Articles tagged with Glaciers
A Dartmouth study reveals that surface meltwater and subglacial discharge are driving the loss of ice mass in Greenland's coastal glaciers. The findings show that meltwater can exploit weaknesses in glaciers, fracturing and weakening them, and also increase calving and melting.
Scientists have obtained high-resolution satellite images revealing the dramatic retreat of tropical glaciers in the Pacific, particularly in West Papua New Guinea. The Carstenz Glacier has almost completely disappeared, while the East North Wall Firn has split into smaller fragments.
A collaborative team of researchers has discovered that the North Atlantic Ocean played a pivotal role in the last great climate tipping point, leading to major expansions of carbon-rich southern-sourced deep waters into the northwestern Atlantic abyss. This finding provides new insights into the process driving these events, suggestin...
Scientists reveal how Arctic microbes speed up glacier melting through cryoconite formation, altering ice surface albedo and creating a self-sustaining cycle. This microbial process is driving the expansion of biologically productive regions on glaciers, contributing to sea level rise.
Researchers have uncovered evidence of 12 massive explosive eruptions in the Cassia Hills of southern Idaho, which left behind glassy deposits and a deep volcanic basin. These eruptions were hotter and more frequent than those at Yellowstone, and provide insights into ancient volcanic activity west of the famous park.
Fiamma Straneo has been chosen by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) for the Sverdrup Lecture, a top honor in ocean sciences. Her research focuses on the role of high-latitude oceans in climate change and ice sheet dynamics.
University of Exeter researchers present world-leading studies on climate tipping points and glacial lake outburst floods, shedding light on early warning signals and their implications for global action. The research aims to provide insights into the social and policy implications of these critical thresholds.
The interaction of water and magma can dramatically increase the explosivity of a volcanic eruption, producing billowing clouds that deposit tephra as fine-grained ash within 10 km of the vent area. The study of the 2008 Okmok eruption in Alaska provides insights into water-magma interactions and their impact on eruption parameters.
Researchers from Michigan Technological University identified a geological pop-up structure known as the Menominee Crack, which formed in 2010. The crack is believed to be a unique feature resulting from the removal of overlying rock or ice, possibly due to glaciers receding over 11,000 years ago.
Research reveals that ice-shelf loss leads to rapid dynamic ice loss, exacerbating sea-level rise. The Antarctic Peninsula has experienced significant retreat and break-up of ice shelves over the past two decades, with upstream glaciers flowing into the ocean at an accelerated rate.
Research-based climate scenarios predict catastrophic consequences of rising carbon emissions, including sea-level rise and coastal submersion affecting 1.3 billion people. The long-term view underscores the urgency to curb emissions within decades.
Researchers found that the Greenland ice sheet is releasing a significant amount of phosphorus into the Arctic Ocean, with annual input equal to some of the world's largest rivers. The nutrient could stimulate growth of plankton at the base of the ocean food web, impacting birds, fish, and marine mammals higher up the chain.
Researchers used computer models and field data to accurately depict current flow conditions in Greenland's topographically complex ice sheet. The study aims to improve knowledge of subglacial topography and predict potential effects on sea levels from a melting ice sheet.
New research reveals Greenland's ice sheet is releasing 400,000 metric tons of phosphorus annually, enriching Arctic Ocean waters and potentially stimulating growth of marine food chain. The nutrient could impact birds, fish, and marine mammals higher up the food chain.
New research from the University of Gothenburg suggests that water supplies in major Asian rivers, such as the Yellow River and Yangtze, will be stable or increase in the coming decades. The study models future climate change and its impact on the region's water balance.
Scientists at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research found a unique relationship between summer insolation and atmospheric CO2 that explains past eight ice ages. Moderate human interference with the planet's natural carbon balance can postpone the next glacial inception by up to 100,000 years.
A CU-Boulder study reveals an ongoing loss of ice on Niwot Ridge and the Green Lakes Valley in the Rocky Mountains, likely to progress as climate warms. The decline is associated with rising temperatures each summer and autumn, causing glaciers, rock glaciers, and permafrost to thin.
Historians Ian Calder and Jan Till believe Shackleton may have had an atrial septal defect, a congenital heart condition commonly known as a 'hole in the heart'. Shackleton exhibited symptoms of breathlessness and weakness during expeditions, which experts now attribute to this condition.
Researchers found the Greenland ice sheet's firn layer is changing rapidly with climate change, altering its ability to store meltwater. The study suggests this could lead to higher-than-predicted sea level rise contributions from the ice sheet.
Geologists have discovered a unique landform in the Wabash River Valley that was formed by erosion from melting glacier floodwaters. The finding provides insight into how floodwaters may behave as glaciers continue to melt today, with potential effects on surrounding landscapes.
Researchers have made direct observations of the Greenland Ice Sheet's reduction and melting over the past 110 years. The study reveals that some areas have lost considerable amounts of ice during the twentieth century, with mass loss along the southeastern and northwestern coast contributing significantly to global sea level rise.
Icequakes in Arctic glaciers may help predict future ice flow and sea level rise. New research finds that the Sabatier process can create life at cooler temperatures than previously thought.
An international team of scientists discovered that fewer landslides occurred after the 2015 Nepal earthquake than initially thought. The research used satellite imaging to analyze the region and found no large floods from overflowing glacial lakes.
Scientists are mapping glaciers and wetlands in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range with high-altitude drones, collecting data on glacier melt and groundwater storage. The study provides a template for research teams investigating water security in other areas of the world.
Scientists have used subterranean rock samples to help fill a gap in the history of Earth's magnetic field, shedding light on North America's position 400 million years ago. The study provides new insights into Paleomagnetism and its relevance to understanding the continent's geological past.
A new study shows that Greenland's glaciers are retreating twice as fast as in the past 9,500 years, highlighting their acute temperature sensitivity. The sediment cores from a glacier-fed lake provide the first continuous observation of glacier change in southeastern Greenland.
Researchers found evidence of cold climate when Vikings arrived in Greenland, contradicting popular notion that warm weather drew settlers. The study adds to evidence that the Medieval Warm Period was not a global phenomenon.
Researchers found that the region was a frost-covered grassy landscape with erosion rates up to 2.5 higher than today's, suggesting colder temperatures and faster erosion during the last ice age. The study provides new insights into how non-glaciated terrain across North America was formed.
The study uses satellite images to show how glaciers flow and change over a longer time period, revealing complex behavior such as advancing or surging at speeds up to 100 times faster than normal. The animations provide a new look at glacier dynamics and can be used as educational tools to help the public understand glacier movement.
Operation IceBridge collected critical data on Arctic sea ice and Antarctic glaciers, revealing significant glacier losses in the Antarctic Peninsula. The mission also provided essential measurements for calibrating satellite data and validating numerical models of ice sheet gains and losses.
Researchers measure mountain range material flow and find glacial erosion accelerates faster than tectonics can rebuild mountains. Climate fluctuations play a pivotal role in shaping Earth's landforms, with erosion rates outpacing tectonic inputs by up to 80%.
The research provides greater evidence that humans were established in South America more than 15,000 years ago, supporting an earlier peopling of the Americas. The findings also underscore the importance of long-term interdisciplinary research and raise new questions about how the hemisphere was settled.
Adelie penguins' population has seen a 135-fold increase over the last 14,000 years due to retreating glaciers. However, regional variability means some populations are declining despite current favorable environmental conditions.
Research divers have found that sedimentation is impacting an entire ecosystem on the seafloor due to melting glaciers. This has led to a decline in species diversity among benthos, with some species being extremely sensitive to higher sedimentation rates and subsequently dying out.
Zachariæ Isstrøm's acceleration increased by a factor of three in 2012 due to rising air and ocean temperatures. The glacier's floating shelf shrank by 95% between 2002 and 2014, posing significant sea level rise concerns.
A study by University of Kansas researchers reveals a major Greenland glacier is losing ice rapidly, contributing to increased global sea levels. The Zachariæ Isstrøm glacier holds enough water to trigger a half-meter rise in ocean levels.
A glacier in northeast Greenland is losing mass at a rate of 5 billion tons per year and breaking up into the North Atlantic Ocean. The glacier's rapid retreat is attributed to ocean warming and decades of increasing air temperatures, which are substantially raising global sea levels.
A study published in ZooKeys found that smaller stonefly species were more capable of recolonizing Isle Royale Island due to their better flight abilities. In contrast, larger stoneflies struggled to cross the lake despite being well-suited for aquatic environments.
Research led by University of Cincinnati geologist Eva Enkelmann shows a strong relationship between global and local climate change and mountain range tectonic plate shifts. The study found that climate-driven erosion can influence tectonics, changing the motion of rocks in affected areas.
Research found that southwest Greenland Ice Sheet movement decreased by 12% between 2007 and 2014, despite increasing surface melt. The study suggests that further increases in melting may not speed up the ice sheet's flow due to drainage channels established at its base.
A new study has identified a law for glacial erosion that captures variability in different climate zones. The results show that fast glaciers are more effective landscape gougers than slow-moving ones, explaining lower long-term erosion rates in Polar Regions.
Scientists discovered that warmer glaciers in Patagonia erode 100-1,000 times faster than those in Antarctica, shedding sediment into oceans and impacting freshwater access. The study highlights the complex effects of climate change on polar regions.
Scientists discovered that the end of the Snowball Earth period was marked by regular ice advances and retreats, contrary to previous thought. The constant changes were caused by the Earth wobbling on its axis, leading to subtle shifts in climate change.
A new study confirms that rising greenhouse gas levels, not other forces, were responsible for the end of the last Ice Age and subsequent glacial retreat. The study uses recalculated ages of ancient boulders to match the timing of glacial melting with increased carbon dioxide levels.
A new study has found that the rise in carbon dioxide was the primary driver of the global retreat of glaciers during the last Ice Age. The research, which analyzed over 1,000 glacial boulders, eliminates regional factors as the main cause of glacier melting and confirms the leading role of greenhouse gases in shaping Earth's climate.
The study found that nearly 3000 square kilometers of glaciers have been lost since the 1960s, with an average annual ice loss of 5.4 gigatons. By the 2050s, half of Tien Shan's glacier volume is estimated to be depleted due to climate change.
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin pioneered a new technique to track subglacial discharge in tidewater glaciers. This method is essential for understanding how glaciers are melting and changing due to climate shifts.
The study reveals that glaciers worldwide are melting at an unprecedented rate, losing half a meter to one meter of ice thickness every year. This is two to three times more than the average for the 20th century, with some glaciers in Norway having retreated by several kilometers from their maximum extents.
The Reynolds Creek Fire in Montana began on July 21 after a lightning strike and has consumed mixed conifer trees, shrubs, and grass. As of July 24, the fire is at 4000 acres with predicted extreme fire behavior due to gusty west winds.
Researchers use innovative NanoSIMS ion probe measurements to document concentration gradients in igneous minerals, calculating the timescale between reheating and eruption. The study suggests an eruption triggered within 10 months after a magma reservoir's reheating, predicting potential future eruptions at Yellowstone.
A Dartmouth-led study using a 600-year-old ice core shows that global mercury pollution increased dramatically during the 20th century, but declined faster than previously thought after emissions started to decrease in the late 1970s. The study suggests present-day efforts to cut mercury emissions will reduce pollution more quickly tha...
Researchers monitored Helheim Glacier for 55 days and detected 10 large-scale calving events, revealing unique quakes registering magnitude five on the Richter Scale. These glacial earthquakes can serve as proxies for glacier edge breaking, offering insights into ice loss from glaciers.
Researchers have discovered a new insight into glacier behavior, revealing the rapid movement of glaciers backward and downward during calving events. This phenomenon helps scientists measure glacier calving remotely and improve sea-level rise predictions.
A new study finds that Alaska's glaciers are losing mass exceptionally fast due to surface melting, overshadowing iceberg calving, and making climate-related melting the primary driver of global sea level change. This will have significant implications for future sea level projections and models.
A new study reveals that weathering rates over the past 2 million years have remained relatively stable between glacial and interglacial periods. This finding contradicts previous assumptions that weathering rates should slow down during ice ages due to lower temperatures.
Researchers found minimal variation in weathering rates of silicate rocks between glacial and interglacial periods, contradicting expectations. The study used a geochemical technique to analyze beryllium isotopes in marine sediments, revealing stable runoff and weathering fluxes into the oceans.
Operation IceBridge successfully collected data over sea and land ice regions, releasing two sea ice data products to aid in forecasting Arctic sea ice behavior. The mission also supported various international research collaborations and provided valuable data to inform models predicting summer sea ice melt.
Scientists from Rice University, Ohio State and Nebraska discovered diatoms in glacial ice from tropical regions, offering insights into conditions around the Andes when they were deposited. The study's findings suggest freshwater lakes or wetlands existed at high elevations on or near the mountain in earlier times.
Researchers warn that Himalayan glaciers in the Everest region could experience dramatic change, with sustained ice loss likely through the 21st century. The study suggests that increased temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns will lead to reduced glacier growth and increased melt, impacting water availability and river flows.
Glaciers on the Southern Antarctic Peninsula have been destabilized and are melting at accelerated rates since 2009, contributing significantly to rising sea levels. Warming ocean currents and changes in wind circulation are thought to be the primary causes of this phenomenon.