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Cryospheric science is the interdisciplinary study of permafrost, snow and ice, primarily on the surface of the Earth, but also on other planets and moons. The cryosphere is an integral part of the climate system, and is investigated with techniques from geophysics, meteorology and hydrology.
The different contributions of long-term and short-term variability to the evolution of ice sheets lead to substantial uncertainties in ice sheet models. This Review describes the response of ice sheets to oceanic, atmospheric and hydrological processes across a range of timescales.
The Ronne Ice Shelf of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated rapidly in the early Holocene due to ice sheet dynamic thinning and subsequent ungrounding, according to an ice core record from Skytrain Ice Rise.
The flow of ice streams leaves traces in the stratigraphy of the ice sheets. Made visible by radar, they reveal the history of the upper North East Greenland Ice Stream. The ice stream is found to have existed in its current form for only about the last 2000 years.
Approximately 13% of perfluoroalkyl substances released in glacial meltwater and intercepted by river sediments which form a substantial sink in the proglacial basin, suggests analysis of sediment cores from lakes on the Tibetan Plateau and numerical modelling.
Low snow water equivalent in the Italian Alps during the 2021–2022 winter was a key cause of the subsequent summer drought in the Po River Basin, according to an assessment which combines satellite and ground-based data with water restriction records.
Accurate representation of permafrost carbon emissions is crucial for climate projections, yet current Earth system models inadequately represent permafrost carbon. Sustained funding opportunities are needed from government and private sectors for prioritized model development.
While it may feel cold to the touch, Sheng Fan and David Prior explain that ice on Earth is relatively hot. Understanding ‘hot’ ice physics during deformation is critical in determining future sea-level rise.
Aerial photographs collected during mapping expeditions of Greenland’s coastline represent the only robust, widespread observations of twentieth-century glacier change for this vast island. We use this unique dataset to document the response of Greenland’s peripheral glaciers to climate change over approximately 130 years, providing enhanced confidence that recent changes are exceptional on a century timescale.
Swath radar maps of the subglacial landscape reveal how Antarctica’s geologic history has influenced the evolution of the ice sheet. The findings indicate the role of past interior ice streams in shaping ice-sheet growth and flow from Hercules Dome.
