Article
|
Open Access
Featured
-
-
Article
| Open AccessRelative sea-level data preclude major late Holocene ice-mass change in Pine Island Bay
The Pine Island Glacier, a locus of ice loss from the modern West Antarctic Ice Sheet, had previously been stable since at least the mid-Holocene, according to records tracking ice extent based on radiocarbon and cosmogenic exposure dating.
- Scott Braddock
- , Brenda L. Hall
- & John Woodward
-
Article |
The importance of Canadian Arctic Archipelago gateways for glacial expansion in Scandinavia
Infilling of Canadian Arctic ocean gateways by the Laurentide Ice Sheet probably triggered Scandinavian glaciation during the last glacial inception by increasing North Atlantic freshwater inputs, according to coupled ice-sheet–climate-model simulations.
- Marcus Lofverstrom
- , Diane M. Thompson
- & Esther C. Brady
-
Article |
Sub-aerial talik formation observed across the discontinuous permafrost zone of Alaska
Temperature observations from across Alaska show widespread talik formation in the discontinuous permafrost zone due to higher air temperatures and above-average snowfall in recent years.
- Louise M. Farquharson
- , Vladimir E. Romanovsky
- & Dmitry Nicolsky
-
Article |
Antarctic ice-shelf advance driven by anomalous atmospheric and sea-ice circulation
Most of the eastern Antarctic Peninsula’s coastline has undergone uninterrupted advance since the early 2000s due to enhanced near-shore sea ice, according to satellite observations and reanalysis data.
- Frazer D. W. Christie
- , Toby J. Benham
- & Julian A. Dowdeswell
-
Article |
Asymmetry in the seasonal cycle of Antarctic sea ice driven by insolation
Solar radiation drives the asymmetry in the seasonal cycle of Antarctic sea ice, according to climate model simulations.
- L. A. Roach
- , I. Eisenman
- & C. M. Bitz
-
Article |
Ice velocity and thickness of the world’s glaciers
Potential sea-level rise from the world’s glaciers is 20% less than previously thought, according to an estimate based on high-resolution maps of glacier ice velocity and thickness.
- Romain Millan
- , Jérémie Mouginot
- & Mathieu Morlighem
-
Article |
Rapid glacier retreat rates observed in West Antarctica
The Pope, Smith and Kohler glaciers in West Antarctica have exhibited faster than expected retreat rates in recent years, according to grounding-line observations from satellite radar interferometry.
- P. Milillo
- , E. Rignot
- & L. Dini
-
Article |
Development of ice-shelf estuaries promotes fractures and calving
Ice-shelf surface rivers can form estuaries that promote fracturing and enhance calving, according to observations from the Petermann and Ryder ice shelves in Greenland.
- Alexandra L. Boghosian
- , Lincoln H. Pitcher
- & Robin E. Bell
-
Article |
Interglacial Antarctic–Southern Ocean climate decoupling due to moisture source area shifts
Interglacial temperature coupling between East Antarctica and the Southern Ocean was set by the position of moisture source regions, according to an 800,000-year-long deuterium-excess ice-core record from East Antarctica.
- A. Landais
- , B. Stenni
- & A. Grisart
-
Article |
Recent strengthening of snow and ice albedo feedback driven by Antarctic sea-ice loss
Recent strengthening of the snow/ice albedo feedback is due to Antarctic sea-ice loss, according to satellite observations of surface albedo.
- Aku Riihelä
- , Ryan M. Bright
- & Kati Anttila
-
Article |
Attribution of global lake systems change to anthropogenic forcing
Anthropogenic climate change is impacting the temperature and ice cover of lakes across the globe, according to an attribution analysis based on hindcasts and projections from lake models.
- Luke Grant
- , Inne Vanderkelen
- & Wim Thiery
-
Article |
Rapid and sensitive response of Greenland’s groundwater system to ice sheet change
Greenland’s groundwater system responds rapidly to ice-sheet change, according to borehole observations from underneath the ice-sheet margin.
- Lillemor Claesson Liljedahl
- , Toby Meierbachtol
- & Neil Humphrey
-
Article |
Sensitivity of Holocene East Antarctic productivity to subdecadal variability set by sea ice
A mid-Holocene expansion of coastal sea ice led to phytoplankton blooms’ becoming less frequent off East Antarctica, according to a suite of annually resolved physical and geochemical analyses performed on a marine sediment core.
- Katelyn M. Johnson
- , Robert M. McKay
- & Robert B. Dunbar
-
Article |
Abrupt Common Era hydroclimate shifts drive west Greenland ice cap change
Coastal west Greenland ice caps fluctuated strongly compared to the interior in response to rapid Common Era changes in snow accumulation, according to modelling of proxy records developed from a Nuussuaq Peninsula ice core covering the last 2,000 years.
- Matthew B. Osman
- , Benjamin E. Smith
- & Harald Sodemann
-
Perspective |
Rapid decline in Antarctic sea ice in recent years hints at future change
The combined effects of decades-long warming and particularly vigorous injections of atmospheric heat from lower latitudes were the likely culprits for sharp declines in sea-ice extent around Antarctica starting in 2016.
- Clare Eayrs
- , Xichen Li
- & David M. Holland
-
Article |
Submarine landslides triggered by iceberg collision with the seafloor
Iceberg gouging of continental slopes can initiate submarine landslides, potentially far from the iceberg source region, according to observations and geotechnical analysis of an event in a Baffin Island fjord.
- Alexandre Normandeau
- , Kevin MacKillop
- & John Hughes Clarke
-
News & Views |
Calving prediction from ice mélange motion
High-frequency radar tracking of icebergs floating in front of a glacier in Greenland show that movements of the ice mélange consistently increase before calving events, indicating that mélange has the potential to modulate calving.
- Irena Vaňková
-
Article |
Granular decoherence precedes ice mélange failure and glacier calving at Jakobshavn Isbræ
Calving of an outlet glacier in Greenland is consistently preceded by distinctive flow patterns in the mélange of sea ice and icebergs in front of the terminus, according to terrestrial radar observations and particle dynamic modelling of the Jakobshavn Isbræ system.
- Ryan K. Cassotto
- , Justin C. Burton
- & Martin Truffer
-
Article
| Open AccessLarge subglacial source of mercury from the southwestern margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet
Meltwaters from the southwestern margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet contain exceptionally high concentrations of mercury, exporting up to more than 200 kmol of dissolved mercury every year, suggest mercury measurements from three glacial catchments.
- Jon R. Hawkings
- , Benjamin S. Linhoff
- & Robert G. M. Spencer
-
Article |
Hydrological impact of Middle Miocene Antarctic ice-free areas coupled to deep ocean temperatures
Middle Miocene deep ocean temperatures were linked to Antarctic ice-sheet extent, not volume, due to distinct vegetation–climate feedbacks, according to coupled atmosphere–ocean–vegetation general circulation modelling.
- Catherine D. Bradshaw
- , Petra M. Langebroek
- & Agatha M. de Boer
-
Article |
Arctic sea-ice loss fuels extreme European snowfall
The loss of Arctic sea-ice enhances evaporation and fuels extreme European winter snowfall, according to an analysis of atmospheric water vapour isotope measurements.
- Hannah Bailey
- , Alun Hubbard
- & Jeffrey M. Welker
-
Article |
A pole-to-equator ocean overturning circulation on Enceladus
Enceladus’s interior ocean could sustain a pole-to-equator overturning circulation, which might mean its bulk salinity is greater than that estimated from plume sampling by Cassini, according to numerical simulations.
- Ana H. Lobo
- , Andrew F. Thompson
- & Saikiran Tharimena
-
Editorial |
Mountains of change
The world’s glaciers are shrinking, with knock-on impacts for local communities. We need a better grasp of the hazards they leave behind.
-
Article |
Abrupt changes in the global carbon cycle during the last glacial period
Southern Hemisphere processes largely set Antarctic climate during the last glacial, though events in the Northern Hemisphere strongly impacted short, centennial-scale changes, according to an analysis of high-resolution carbon dioxide and temperature records from an Antarctic ice core.
- Thomas K. Bauska
- , Shaun A. Marcott
- & Edward J. Brook
-
Article |
Increased outburst flood hazard from Lake Palcacocha due to human-induced glacier retreat
Human-induced warming is responsible for the retreat of Palcaraju glacier and the associated increase in glacial lake outburst flood hazard, according to an analysis of observations and numerical models.
- R. F. Stuart-Smith
- , G. H. Roe
- & M. R. Allen
-
Article |
Nonlinear forcing of climate on mountain denudation during glaciations
Constraints on the denudation of the Southern Alps over the last glacial cycle indicate a nonlinear influence of climate on landscape evolution in glaciated areas, according to a beryllium isotope record measured from quartz in a sequence of Mediterranean turbidites.
- Apolline Mariotti
- , Pierre-Henri Blard
- & Karim Keddadouche
-
Article |
Carbon and nitrogen cycling in Yedoma permafrost controlled by microbial functional limitations
Carbon dioxide emissions from permafrost thaw are substantially enhanced by relieving microbial functional limitations, according to incubation experiments on Yedoma permafrost.
- Sylvain Monteux
- , Frida Keuper
- & Ellen Dorrepaal
-
Article |
Coupled Southern Ocean cooling and Antarctic ice sheet expansion during the middle Miocene
Antarctic ice volume expansion in the middle Miocene coincides with Southern Ocean cooling, according to biomarker and clumped isotope temperature records from south of Tasmania.
- Thomas J. Leutert
- , Alexandra Auderset
- & A. Nele Meckler
-
Article |
Post-impact cryo-hydrologic formation of small mounds and hills in Ceres’s Occator crater
Mounds within Ceres’s Occator crater may have formed by freezing of water-rich impact-induced melt, by a process analogous to that of pingo formation on Earth, according to an analysis of data from NASA’s Dawn mission.
- B. E. Schmidt
- , H. G. Sizemore
- & C. T. Russell
-
Article |
Interannual variations in meltwater input to the Southern Ocean from Antarctic ice shelves
Meltwater entering the Southern Ocean from Antarctic ice shelves varies substantially from year to year, with consequences for Southern Ocean circulation and climate, according to remote sensing estimates of ice-shelf basal melting rates.
- Susheel Adusumilli
- , Helen Amanda Fricker
- & Matthew R. Siegfried
-
Article |
The state of rock debris covering Earth’s glaciers
A global map of rock-debris cover on mountain glaciers shows its spatial distribution and evolution.
- Sam Herreid
- & Francesca Pellicciotti
-
Article |
Valley formation on early Mars by subglacial and fluvial erosion
Some valleys in the southern highlands of Mars may have formed by subglacial erosion, consistent with a cold and icy early Mars, according to a statistical analysis of valley morphometry.
- Anna Grau Galofre
- , A. Mark Jellinek
- & Gordon R. Osinski
-
Correspondence |
One hundred years of Milanković cycles
- Ivana Cvijanovic
- , Jelena Lukovic
- & James D. Begg
-
Article |
Southern Ocean carbon sink enhanced by sea-ice feedbacks at the Antarctic Cold Reversal
Increased Southern Ocean productivity driven by sea-ice feedbacks contributed to a slowdown in rising CO2 levels during the last deglaciation, according to analyses of marine-derived aerosols from an Antarctic ice core.
- C. J. Fogwill
- , C. S. M. Turney
- & A. Cooper
-
Article |
Experimental evidence for lava-like mud flows under Martian surface conditions
Experimental mudflows under Martian surface conditions propagate similarly to terrestrial pahoehoe lava flows, suggesting mud (rather than igneous) volcanism can explain some flow morphologies on Mars.
- Petr Brož
- , Ondřej Krýza
- & Manish R. Patel
-
News & Views |
Ancient ice-sheet collapse
A revised age reconstruction suggests marine-based regions of the Eurasian Ice Sheet melted rapidly, contributing to a major sea-level rise some 14,600 years ago. Such a rapid collapse of massive ice hints at the vulnerability of Earth’s remaining ice sheets.
- Joseph D. Ortiz
-
Article |
Eurasian Ice Sheet collapse was a major source of Meltwater Pulse 1A 14,600 years ago
Marine-based sections of the Eurasian Ice Sheet collapsed rapidly during a warming event 14,600 years ago and contributed to the Meltwater Pulse 1A event, according to a recalibrated age model for sediments from the Norwegian Sea.
- Jo Brendryen
- , Haflidi Haflidason
- & Bjarte Hannisdal
-
Article |
Tropical climate responses to projected Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice loss
Antarctic sea-ice loss causes enhanced warming in the eastern equatorial Pacific, and together with Arctic sea-ice loss accounts for 20–30% of projected warming and rainfall changes in the tropics, suggest climate model simulations.
- Mark R. England
- , Lorenzo M. Polvani
- & Clara Deser
-
Article |
Bathymetry constrains ocean heat supply to Greenland’s largest glacier tongue
Ocean heat transport underneath the floating tongue of 79 North Glacier, Greenland, is controlled by a sill in the inflow channel, according to ship-based and mooring data as well as bathymetric data.
- Janin Schaffer
- , Torsten Kanzow
- & David H. Roberts
-
Article |
Complex evolving patterns of mass loss from Antarctica’s largest glacier
Thinning rates of Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica’s largest glacier, are now highest in slowly flowing regions, suggesting that future changes in the grounding line may be more modest than thought, according to high-resolution satellite data.
- Jonathan L. Bamber
- & Geoffrey J. Dawson
-
Article |
Global ocean heat content in the Last Interglacial
Rapid oceanic and atmospheric circulation shifts led to a transient peak in the mean temperature of the ocean at the start of the Last Interglacial, according to noble gas isotope records from an Antarctic ice core.
- S. Shackleton
- , D. Baggenstos
- & J. P. Severinghaus
-
Perspective |
Manifestations and mechanisms of the Karakoram glacier Anomaly
Glaciers in the Karakoram region, with their balanced or slightly positive mass balance, stand out from global glacier shrinkage, but this anomaly is not expected to persist in the long term, according to an overview of the possible explanations.
- Daniel Farinotti
- , Walter W. Immerzeel
- & Amaury Dehecq
-
Article |
Deep glacial troughs and stabilizing ridges unveiled beneath the margins of the Antarctic ice sheet
A high-resolution update of Antarctic bed topography using mass conservation reveals broad stabilizing ridges for glaciers flowing across the Transantarctic Mountains, and stabilizing slopes beneath Moscow University, Totten and Lambert glacier system.
- Mathieu Morlighem
- , Eric Rignot
- & Duncan A. Young
-
-
Matters Arising |
Reply to: Penitente formation is unlikely on Europa
- Daniel E. J. Hobley
- , Jeffrey M. Moore
- & Orkan M. Umurhan
-
Article |
West Antarctic surface melt triggered by atmospheric rivers
Atmospheric rivers associated with blocking events are related to a large fraction of the surface ice melt events in West Antarctica, suggest observation-based analyses of atmospheric dynamics and West Antarctic surface melt.
- Jonathan D. Wille
- , Vincent Favier
- & Francis Codron
-
Editorial |
The familiarity of icy worlds
The geological similarities between icy and rocky worlds invite comparison and cross-fertilization of knowledge.
-
Article |
Dome formation on Ceres by solid-state flow analogous to terrestrial salt tectonics
Domes on the dwarf planet Ceres could form by solid-state flow of low-density, ice-rich parts of its crust—a process analogous to salt doming on Earth—according to numerical simulations.
- M. T. Bland
- , D. L. Buczkowski
- & C. T. Russell
-
Article |
Two decades of glacier mass loss along the Andes
Glaciers in the Andes have lost about 23 Gt of mass per year between 2000 and 2018, with the fastest loss in Patagonia, according to time series of digital elevation models that are based on ASTER stereo images.
- I. Dussaillant
- , E. Berthier
- & L. Ruiz