CR
Cryospheric Sciences

glaciology

A First-Timer’s Journey to the Heart of the Himalayas

October 25, 2024
The route of our journey from Srinagar to Panikhar.
The route of our journey from Srinagar to Panikhar. The black line is the road we took for the car journey. The road is not to scale! (Credit: Krishnanand J)

I am Krishnanand J, a graduate student in glaciology from IISER Pune, India. This is a story about my very first field trip to the Himalaya. Coming from a small village in Kerala, which is the southernmost state of India, going to the Himalaya is considered a big thing. It is like a camel visiting Antarctica. So below, I will take you along on an immersive journey, as I tell you about my first fie ...[Read More]

Cryoscientist life stories: Experiences of an ‘office glaciologist’

August 29, 2024
The view of a glacier from a scientific cruise to the Arctic. Alex has never visited the glaciers he models, but he gets to understand and see them in a different way. Image credit: Bryony Freer
The view of a glacier from a scientific cruise to the Arctic. Alex has never visited the glaciers he models, but he gets to understand and see them in a different way. Image credit: Bryony Freer

Both glaciological research conducted in the field, and in the office, are vital — and ‘count’ as glaciology. Often, however, those of us who remain in our cozy offices can be forgotten, or thought to lead a ‘boring’ job. Alex Bradley, a modeller of glaciers, is here to remind you why the office glaciologist is fundamental to the Cryosphere, and why glaciology from a distance is key to the future. ...[Read More]

Image of the week: The Song of Sastrugi

June 14, 2024
Wavy ice feature in front of wide blue sky.
Sastrugi on the Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica (Credit Emma Pearce).

Sastrugi are significant features in glaciology, providing valuable insights into wind patterns, snow dynamics, and surface processes. So although at first sight they may be easy to walk over (quite literally), their patterns and features can tell us more than you might think, so next time take a moment to look and see the story they have to tell…   The Song of Sastrugi The wind’s icy b ...[Read More]

Did you know? We can see what’s going on inside an ice shelf using geophysics!

April 2, 2024
Did you know? We can see what’s going on inside an ice shelf using geophysics!
Figure 1: Halley VI research station, glowing in the late summer sun.

Understanding what is going on inside an ice shelf is important for many reasons. But mostly, it allows us to better understand their contribution to sea level rise, and to understand how they are changing and evolve over time, with our changing climate. Geophysical methods offer a means to be able to see inside an ice shelf, and get an idea of their properties. Read on to find out a bit more abou ...[Read More]

A place called home?

February 18, 2022
A place called home?
Black-legged kittiwakes in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. Photo credit: Geir Wing Gabrielsen/Norwegian Polar Institute.

Welcome to Kongsfjorden in Svalbard. The front of the glaciers terminating into the sea is an ecological hotspot, home to many marine animals, like kittiwakes, who love to hunt here. They feed on small fish and shrimp, which at marine-terminating glacier fronts are brought to the surface by upwelling glacial meltwater. Retreating glaciers lose their contact with the ocean As the planet warms these ...[Read More]

Bridging the crevasse: working toward gender equity in the cryosphere

March 8, 2019

Today is International Women’s Day. As three early career glaciologists, we set out to investigate the state of gender diversity in the cryospheric sciences. Is there a better day for this than the day of recognition of the fight for women’s rights across the globe? “The extreme nature of high alpine and polar environments made the rhetoric of mountaineering and glaciology heroic and masculine, wh ...[Read More]

Image of the Week — Historical aerial imagery of Greenland

May 27, 2016
Image of the Week — Historical aerial imagery of Greenland
Aerial photo of the Zackenberg delta in North-East Greenland taken in 1932. (Credit: Danish Geodata Agency)

A few month ago, we were taking you on a trip back to Antarctic fieldwork 50 years ago, today we go back to Greenland during 1930s! When geopolitics serves cryospheric sciences The Permanent Court of International Justice in The Hague awarded Danish sovereignty over Greenland in 1933 and besides geopolitical interests, Denmark had a keen interest in searching for natural resources and new opportun ...[Read More]