Ice shelf breakup

Ice shelves buckle under weight of meltwater lakes

Feb. 13, 2019

CIRES scientists have directly observed an Antarctic ice shelf bending under the weight of ponding meltwater on top, a phenomenon that may have triggered the 2002 collapse of the Larsen B ice shelf.

Greenland ice sheet

Sand from glacial melt could be Greenland’s economic salvation

Feb. 11, 2019

As climate change melts Greenland’s glaciers and deposits more river sediment on its shores, international researchers have identified an unforeseen economic opportunity: exporting excess sand and gravel abroad.

McMurdo Dry Valleys

A water quality mystery, solved in Antarctica

Feb. 1, 2019

Scientists have developed a possible answer to a longstanding mystery about the chemistry of streamflow, which may have broad implications for watersheds and water quality around the world.

Baffin Island glaciers

A landscape unseen in over 40,000 years

Jan. 25, 2019

Glacial retreat in the Canadian Arctic has uncovered landscapes that haven’t been ice-free in more than 40,000 years, and the region may be experiencing its warmest century in 115,000 years.

Greenland

Greenland ice melting faster than expected

Jan. 22, 2019

Greenland is melting faster than scientists previously thought—and will likely lead to faster sea level rise—thanks to the continued, accelerating warming of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Lake Dillon

Colorado’s Lake Dillon is warming rapidly

Jan. 7, 2019

CIRES researchers harnessed 35 years of data to uncover responses of a high-elevation reservoir to a warming world.

Antarctica

A record-low start to the new year in Antarctica

Jan. 3, 2019

The rate of Antarctic ice extent loss for December 2018 is the fastest in the satellite record, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Longer growing seasons complicate outlook for coniferous forests

Dec. 19, 2018

Will a longer, climate-induced growing season ultimately help coniferous forests to grow or hurt them?

Antarctic Ice Sheet

Less ozone means more snow for Antarctica

Dec. 10, 2018

Ozone layer depletion has increased snowfall over Antarctica in recent decades, partially mitigating the ongoing loss of the continent’s ice sheet mass.

glaciers

The quirky movement of glaciers

Nov. 29, 2018

Detailed observations of Greenland’s Jakobshavn Glacier help explain dynamic tidewater glacier speedup and slowdowns.

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