Mountain glaciers

Why the 2022 Italian snow drought matters to you

Francesco Avanzi September 16, 2022

2022 was a particularly poor snow season across the Italian Alps, with estimated anomalies in Snow Water Equivalent compared to the last 12 years well below -75% at places. Photo credit: S3M Italy by CIMA Research Foundation, background layer is from the ESRI Satellite Theme.

June 2022: I was discussing the ongoing drought with my family over lunch, when my dad pointed to me and summarized things as follows: “You know, less snow in winter means less water in summer!” I almost choked … what? Not only was it the first time I realized my family had been listening to my scientific anecdotes for years, but I also had concrete evidence now that snow was entering public ...[Read More]

Taiwan’s Icy Past

TJ & CJ Young May 6, 2022

The bustling cityscape of Taipei at dusk. Notice the mountains that surround the entire city! [Credit: TJ & CJ Young]

The beautiful island of Taiwan (as given by its colonial name, Ilha Formosa) is primarily known for its lush tropical forests, delicious culinary cuisine, bubbling hot springs, and a bustling cityscape. But, what does Taiwan have to do with the cryosphere? Before you resist the urge to leave and get a bubble tea, read on to find out about Taiwan’s cryospheric past! From cities to mountains Taiwan ...[Read More]

Massive melting of Caucasus glaciers

Levan Tielidze March 18, 2022

Ice-snow covered Mt. Kazbegi (5047 m above sea level), one of the tourist attractions of the Greater Caucasus region. Photo was taken from Village of Sno in Georgia. Photo Credit: Levan Tielidze

The Caucasus is one of the most studied glacierized regions in the world (see previous Cryoblogs on Caucasus glaciers here and here). In this week’s blog, Levan Tielidze tells us about the health of the Greater Caucasus glaciers. His first study published this year indicates that the rate of decline in glacier extent between 2000 and 2020 in the Greater Caucasus is four times higher than it was be ...[Read More]

Crater Glacier: A story of renewal in the aftermath of destruction

Annika Horlings March 11, 2022

Crater Glacier, as photographed in 2007. [Credit: Jon Major, U.S. Geological Survey]

Crater Glacier, located on Mount St. Helens, Washington State, U.S., tells a tale of renewal. The catastrophic and deadly May 18th, 1980 eruption of the volcano created, among other things, a deep horseshoe-shaped, north-facing crater and obliterated most of the glaciers that resided on the volcano’s slopes. By a decade and a half later, it was clear that a glacier had formed in this unlikely loca ...[Read More]

Climate change and the Cryosphere – With ice we are also losing a piece of our cultural heritage: a glaciologist’s perspective

Giovanni Baccolo November 5, 2021

The most famous glacier of the Dolomites (in the Eastern Alps): the Marmolada glacier. Its retreat has been ongoing for over a century and the glacier has now become a distant memory of what it used to be at the end of the Little Ice Age, in the late 19th century. [Credits: Giovanni Baccolo]

Glaciers are shrinking and disappearing in many regions of the Earth. Did you know? I am joking of course. We are flooded with news talking about this. The decline of glaciers has manifold and severe consequences and is one of the most powerful icons of climate change. Here I want to talk a little bit about one of the less talked about impact of glacier decline: the loss of culture and knowledge r ...[Read More]

Did you know about Artificial Glaciers?

Giovanni Baccolo August 27, 2021

Figure 1. The Presena glacier in the central Alps (Adamello-Presanella range) is one of the most famous “artificial” glaciers. Here we are in September 2020 and you see a snowcat in the process of removing the white tarps that cover the glacier in summer, visible in its upper part. Is this a glacier or a construction site? [Credits: Giovanni Baccolo]

There are several ways that we can classify glaciers. We can look at their shape, their size, their type of terminus, and many other features. A new characteristic has recently been gaining in popularity: artificiality. Yes, we now have a few artificial glaciers! Have you ever heard about them? They are glaciers whose behavior is directly influenced by human interventions in order to improve their ...[Read More]

Climate Change and Cryosphere – What can we learn from the smallest, most vulnerable glaciers in the Ötztal Alps?

Markus Strudl March 19, 2021

The Alps were the first mountains to be studied from a glaciological point of view in the 19th century and they host some of the most studied glaciers of Earth. Some of them are found in the Central Alps and in particular, the Ötztal Alps. Just to cite the most known and largest glaciers in this Alpine sector, we can mention Hintereisferner or Vernagtferner. But in the Ötztal Alps you can also fin ...[Read More]

Did you know…about regenerated glaciers?

Giovanni Baccolo October 2, 2020

Fig. 1 The Eastern Fellaria glacier, in the Bernina massif (Central Alps). Its lower sector is a beautiful example of a regenerated glacier. Photo credit: Riccardo Scotti.

Ice caps, valley glaciers, cirque glaciers, piedmont glaciers, ice sheets… I’m guessing that if you are a glaciology enthusiast, you have already heard about these types of glaciers. But you probably don’t know anything about regenerated glaciers, am I right? Well, you are in the right place! Let’s find out more about this little-known glacier type. Classifying glaciers Glaciers are classified on ...[Read More]

Climate Change & Cryosphere – The fate of Georgian Glaciers

Levan Tielidze January 24, 2020

Display "The fate of Georgian Glaciers" from YouTube Click here to display content from YouTube. Learn more in YouTube’s privacy policy. Always display content from YouTube Open "The fate of Georgian Glaciers" directly Last week, we learned about the dramatic fate of the Hochjochferner, which has strongly retreated in the past years due to climate change. It represented just on ...[Read More]

Image of the Week – Making waves: assessing supraglacial water storage for debris-covered glaciers

Scott Watson and Evan Miles July 13, 2018

A creeping flux of ice descends Everest, creating the dynamic environment of Khumbu Glacier. Ice and snow tumble, debris slumps, ice cliffs melt, englacial cavities collapse, ponds form and drain, all responding to a variable energy balance. Indeed, Khumbu Glacier is a debris-covered glacier, meaning it features a layer of sediment, rocks and house-sized boulders that covers the ice beneath. Recen ...[Read More]