Fig. 1: A network of low-centred ice-wedge polygons (5 to 20 m in diameter) in Adventdalen, Svalbard [Credit: Ben Giles/Matobo Ltd] In Svalbard, the snow melts to reveal a mysterious honeycomb network of irregular shapes (fig. 1). These shapes may look as though they have been created by a rogue baker with an unusual set of biscuit cutters, but they are in fact distinctive permafrost landforms known as ice-wedge polygons, and they play an important role in the global climate. Ice-wedge polygo...| Cryospheric Sciences
Mountain glaciers are melting rapidly due to global warming. This process is being intensified by increasingly extreme natural events, such as forest fires and air pollution from human activities. One of the main culprits is a tiny but powerful pollutant called black carbon (commonly known as soot) which darkens the surface of the snow and makes it met faster under the sun. But how much of this pollutant is actually ending up on glaciers? And what does this mean for the future of their ice? I...| Cryospheric Sciences
Would you like to follow the endeavours of a small team working in the ice-marginal terrain in South-West Greenland? They set out to investigate proglacial lakes using sediment coring, water sampling and gas collections (figure 1), aiming to better understand methane dynamics, proglacial terrain development and the environmental drivers behind methane production in glacially influenced lake systems. Here, you will read how the team is confronted with the resistance of frozen landscapes and s...| Cryospheric Sciences
Since several decades, there’s a lot of discussion in the permafrost ecosystem community on “rewilding” and “return to a natural state” in order to protect ecosystems and to reduce the impacts of climate change. Reindeer and other herbivores influence the insulation regime of the ground and could thereby preserve the frozen state of permafrost ground. Is there a way to utilise this effect to our benefit, and make wild animals the “ecosystem engineers” of the Arctic? How are wild...| Cryospheric Sciences
This miniseries features the tradition of ‘PhD hat’ making in German research institutes and universities. For those of you unfamiliar with this idea (as I once was), this is one of the final milestones a graduate student has before they are officially a “Dr.”. Upon the successful defense of a thesis, the labmates of the PhD student craft a graduation hat from a mishmash of scrap cardboard and memorabilia. Hours of work go into these beloved pieces, and you can often find these hand-m...| Cryospheric Sciences
In this week’s blog, Levan Tielidze tells us about his recent glacier study from the Greater Caucasus. By combining geomorphology, remote sensing, and historical cartography, the team reconstructed nearly 200 years of glacier and climate change across one of the world’s most dynamic cryospheric frontiers. Glaciers’ transformation provides a high-resolution archive of post- Little Ice Age climate dynamics in this region where instrumental records are sparse. The Greater Caucasus and the ...| Cryospheric Sciences
In this week’s blog, Levan Tielidze tells us about his participation in a scientific expedition to Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, during the 2024–2025 field season. The journey, commencing in Australia and passing through South Africa, led him to the “surreal” and “awe-inspiring” Antarctic landscape. The team, a collaborative effort from Monash University, and the University of Tasmania, focused on collecting rock samples for cosmogenic nuclide dating and installing seismic stati...| Cryospheric Sciences
Antarctica is a unique place where history, adventure, and science collide. It’s a continent that has fascinated explorers for centuries, but much of its story has been told through the lens of men who have ventured into its icy expanse. Natalie Hewit, a documentary filmmaker with a love for the polar continent, is changing that. Through her films, she brings Antarctica’s past and present to life, retelling its history and giving a voice to the stories that would otherwise stay frozen in ...| Cryospheric Sciences
This miniseries features the tradition of ‘PhD hat’ making in German research institutes and universities. For those of you unfamiliar with this idea (as I once was), this is one of the final milestones a graduate student has before they are officially a “Dr.”. Upon the successful defense of a thesis, the labmates of the PhD student craft a graduation hat from a mishmash of scrap cardboard and memorabilia. Hours of work go into these beloved pieces, and you can often find these hand-m...| Cryospheric Sciences
Are you attending this year’s EGU General Assembly virtual or in person? No matter the way you attend or if it’s your first time or you are coming to Vienna for the GA for years, today we share with you some cryosphere programme highlights and general tips on how to make the most out of your conference experience. Every year, we summarise the main cryosphere events for you, those for inspiration but especially those, where you have the chance to meet us and connect with other fellow cryo...| Cryospheric Sciences
2025 marks an important year for glaciers, as it’s the official Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, an initiative by UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Part of the initiative is also the official declaration of March 21st as the World Day for Glaciers . UNESCO wants to celebrate this day in the hope that it “ urges global action to protect glaciers and their crucial role in sustaining life on Earth for future generations .” Larissa van der Laan was lucky enough to be ...| Cryospheric Sciences
Retreating glaciers, shrinking sea ice or thawing permafrost – many of you might have witnessed formerly familiar landscapes being transformed by climate change over the last years, maybe even beyond recognition. And perhaps these undeniable changes have left you feeling sad, angry or anxious about the future, fearing what lies ahead. But did you know there is an entire academic field out there researching the emotions evoked by the impacts of climate change? To learn more about it, I talke...| Cryospheric Sciences
This miniseries features the tradition of ‘PhD hat’ making in German research institutes and universities. For those of you unfamiliar with this idea (as I once was), this is one of the final milestones a graduate student has before they are officially a “Dr.”. Upon the successful defense of a thesis, the labmates of the PhD student craft a graduation hat from a mishmash of scrap cardboard and memorabilia. Hours of work go into these beloved pieces, and you can often find these hand-m...| Cryospheric Sciences
Sea ice is a critical part of the unique Arctic ecosystem, but climate change is becoming a serious threat. Warming in the Arctic has already resulted in the loss of over 4 million km² of sea ice. But is it all bad? Retreat of Arctic sea ice is allowing more ships to navigate the Arctic Ocean, along shorter, faster and cheaper sea routes, providing emission reductions of 24%. But will the growth of shipping sign the death warrant for Arctic sea ice? Read on to find out! A frozen landscape…...| Cryospheric Sciences
This miniseries features the tradition of ‘PhD hat’ making in German research institutes and universities. For those of you unfamiliar with this idea (as I once was), this is one of the final milestones a graduate student has before they are officially a “Dr.”. Upon the successful defense of a thesis, the peers of the PhD student craft a graduation hat from a mishmash of scrap cardboard and memorabilia. Hours of work go into these beloved pieces, and you can often find these hand-made...| Cryospheric Sciences
Figure 1: PhD student Gemma Brett conducts fieldwork examining variability in the distribution of the sub-ice platelet layer in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica [Credit: Florence Isaacs] Today is International Women’s Day . As three early career glaciologists, we set out to investigate the state of gender diversity in the cryospheric sciences. Is there a better day for this than the day of recognition of the fight for women’s rights across the globe? “The extreme nature of high alpine and pola...| Cryospheric Sciences
I’m Himanshu Kaushik, a PhD student working under the guidance of Dr. Mohd Farooq Azam at the Indian Institute of Technology Indore (India). Seven years ago, I took my first steps onto the Chhota Shigri Glacier (CSG) in the Indian (Western) Himalaya, and it felt like stepping into another world. Surrounded by the towering peaks, it seemed otherworldly and humbling. After that first expedition, I have visited this glacier about 16 times, each trip uncovering new insights and deepening my con...| Cryospheric Sciences
The EGU Cryosphere Blog is now 10 years old: Happy Birthday! It all started in December 2014 with this blog post from Nanna Karlsson, and now counts 452 blog posts across 25 blog categories, including winning three Best EGU blog posts (2016, 2019 and 2021). 881 different (hash)tags were used in our blog posts, with way more counts on Antarctica and climate than the Arctic. Since the start, there have been many chief editors, but today we wanted to celebrate with you by interviewing four of th...| Cryospheric Sciences
The time I first set foot at the university, I didn’t expect that two weeks later I would be looking at a backpack more than half my size, turning my back to the shelter of our rental car and walking almost 100 km in the Norwegian Arctic. Howling winds, heavy backpacks, daunting bridges, and endless beauty – that’s how I would describe my first experience with glacier fieldwork. I, Silje Waaler, started my PhD journey in August 2023 at the Department of Geosciences at the UiT, the Arcti...| Cryospheric Sciences
In this week’s blog post, Dr. Remya S N and Dr. Vishnu Nandan talk about how optical and radar satellite images were used to characterize the very recent catastrophic Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) from the South Lhonak Lake in the Indian Himalaya before and after the flooding and highlight the importance of timely observations and monitoring for people’s livelihoods. The South Lhonak Lake GLOF In the serene glaciated Himalayan landscapes of North Sikkim, India, a tragic event unfolde...| Cryospheric Sciences
When most people think of Antarctica, meteorites aren’t the first things that come to mind. Perhaps they imagine the huge ice shelves, the desolate interior, or perhaps penguin colonies near one of the scientific bases — but usually not meteorites. So why is our project looking for meteorites in Antarctica, and besides, aren’t they all lost until they are found? Let’s start with the Antarctic part. Surprisingly, Antarctica is a great place to hunt for meteorites, with two-thirds of al...| Cryospheric Sciences
A few month ago, we were taking you on a trip back to Antarctic fieldwork 50 years ago, today we go back to Greenland during 1930s! When geopolitics serves cryospheric sciences The Permanent Court of International Justice in The Hague awarded Danish sovereignty over Greenland in 1933 and besides geopolitical interests, Denmark had a keen interest in searching for natural resources and new opportunities in this newly acquired colony. In the 1930s the Danish Government initiated three comprehen...| Cryospheric Sciences
Recently, Machine Learning (ML) has emerged as a powerful tool within cryospheric sciences, offering innovative and effective solutions for observing, modelling and understanding the frozen regions of the Earth. From learning snowfall patterns and predicting avalanche dynamics to speeding up the process of modelling ice sheets, ML has transformed cryospheric sciences and bears many opportunities for future research. Case study: Sea ice As an example, let’s consider how ML can help us observ...| Cryospheric Sciences
I am Krishnanand J, a graduate student in glaciology from IISER Pune, India. This is a story about my very first field trip to the Himalaya . Coming from a small village in Kerala, which is the southernmost state of India, going to the Himalaya is considered a big thing. It is like a camel visiting Antarctica. So below, I will take you along on an immersive journey, as I tell you about my first field trip to the Himalaya. The Journey Begins ( Kerala, 900 m a.s.l.) “You are going to Himala...| Cryospheric Sciences
Friday the 10 October, was World Mental Health Day, a day that was founded by the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) in 1992. This year’s official theme focuses specifically on mental health in the work environment. So let’s take a look at what this means for the field of academia and the cryosphere specifically. With this post, we aim to not only raise awareness of the mental health crisis within the workplace, but to also focus on solutions and tools to help address these issues....| Cryospheric Sciences
On this September 13th, coinciding to be a “Friday 13th”, we wanted to scan the cryo-history for expeditions started, sunken ships that day , and mountain myths. And we did find that. But as autumn approaches in the Northern hemisphere, the spookiest story of all was this one: the unlucky timing of the Arctic sea ice in September. TGIF – but not for sea ice Although the median minimum Arctic sea ice extent is on September 14th , a few times in the last decades, the minimum extent occurr...| Cryospheric Sciences
Both glaciological research conducted in the field, and in the office, are vital — and ‘count’ as glaciology. Often, however, those of us who remain in our cozy offices can be forgotten, or thought to lead a ‘boring’ job. Alex Bradley, a modeller of glaciers, is here to remind you why the office glaciologist is fundamental to the Cryosphere, and why glaciology from a distance is key to the future. I’ve never been to the field, but I am a glaciologist I have never been to Anta...| Cryospheric Sciences
As we are starting into our annual blog summer break, we reflect on what summer can mean for polar researchers (including some fieldwork saudades ). As an Arctic or Alpine cryo-scientist, chances are that you are somewhere in between vacation, fieldwork or trying to work through data while everyone else is free. If you, like us, did not have your vacation yet or do not have any fieldwork coming up this summer (or it’s been a while because you do your fieldwork on the Southern hemisphere), l...| Cryospheric Sciences
Women make up 50.8% of the world’s population, yet fewer than 30% of the world’s researchers are women. Of this percentage, women of colour comprise around 5%, with less than 1% represented in geoscience faculty positions. Women are published less, paid less, and do not progress as far in their careers as men. Even within our EGU community, women account for only one third of all members, and make up only 32% of the cryosphere division. The divide between women in the population and...| Cryospheric Sciences
Even before its publication, my partner stumbled over the book The Quickening by Elizabeth Rush on Twitter and send it to me. In this book, Rush describes her journey to Thwaites Glacier and – as I was very curious about it – I bought it immediately after its release. It is not only documentary work about the journey, but also a meditation on responsibility, motherhood and life in a world of changing climate. The book inspired me deeply and this is why I would love to share it with you. O...| Cryospheric Sciences
Kggk kggk kggk – the sound of crampons accompanies me. A thin layer of snow covers the slippery ice while I pull a sled. As I wipe my hand over the snow, underneath, a blue color glitters in the sun (Figure 2). In the last days it has been snowing in the White Desert (Antarctica). All blue ice we could see before is temporarily covered by a thin blanket, perfect to pull a sled. However, this snow on blue ice also poses challenges – not in the pleasant sun on that day in the field, but beh...| Cryospheric Sciences
Sastrugi are significant features in glaciology, providing valuable insights into wind patterns, snow dynamics, and surface processes. So although at first sight they may be easy to walk over (quite literally), their patterns and features can tell us more than you might think, so next time take a moment to look and see the story they have to tell… The Song of Sastrugi The wind’s icy breath Sweeps across the snow Its whisper leaves a mark In patterns that it sows. The snow it hears wind...| Cryospheric Sciences
