The evolution of surface topography of glaciers in the Swiss Alps is well documented with high-resolution aerial photographs repeatedly recorded since the 1960s and further back in time with topographic maps including elevation contour lines first surveyed in the mid-19th century. In order to quantify and interpret glacier changes in the Swiss Alps, time series of volume changes over the last 100–150 years have been collected. The available datasets provide a detailed spatial resolution for the retreat period since the end of the Little Ice Age. The spatial distribution as well as temporal variations of the thickness change were analyzed. A significant ice loss since the end of the 19th century was observed in the ablation area, while the changes in the accumulation area were small. We found moderate negative secular rates until the 1960s, followed by steady to positive rates for about two decades and strong ice loss starting in the 1980s which has lasted until the present. An evaluation of 19 glaciers revealed a total ice volume loss of about 13km3 since the 1870s, of which 8.7 km3 occurred since the 1920s and 3.5 km3 since 1980. Decadal mean net balance rates for the periods 1920–60, 1960–80 and 1980–present are –0.29, –0.03 and –0.53ma–1w.e., respectively.

The re-analysis of long-term mass-balance time series is important to provide bias-corrected mass-balance data for climate-change impact studies. A method to homogenize time series of comprehensive mass-balance monitoring programmes is presented and applied to the nearly 50 year mass-balance records of Griesgletscher and Silvrettagletscher, Switzerland. Using a distributed mass-balance model in daily resolution we correct the mass-balance data for varying observation dates. Direct point measurements are combined with independent geodetic mass changes, a prerequisite for a thorough homogenization of mass-balance records. Differences between mass balance evaluated in the hydrological year or according to the measurement period and the stratigraphic system are analysed and may be up to ±0.5mw.e. a−1. Cumulative mass balance of both glaciers based on the glaciological method generally agrees well with geodetic mass change on the investigated glaciers. However, for Silvretta-gletscher a significant bias of +0.37mw.e. a−1 has been detected and corrected for since 1994.

Sufficiently deep water-filled fractures can penetrate even cold ice-sheet ice, but glaciogenic stresses are typically smaller than needed to propagate water-filled fractures that are less than a few tens of meters deep, as shown by our simplified analytical treatment based on analogous models of magmatic processes. However, water-filled fractures are inferred to reach the bed of Greenland through >1 km of ice and then collapse to form moulins, which are observed. Supraglacial lakes appear especially important among possible crack ‘nucleation’ mechanisms, because lakes can warm ice, supply water, and increase the pressure driving water flow and ice cracking.

The origins of diamictons deposited at the Matanuska Glacier are identified in stratigraphic sequences mainly by the presence or absence of a pebble fabric, internal structure, and variation in gravel-size clast distribution. These properties correlate with major differences in depositional mechanisms and source material. Melt-out till mostly inherits fabric, internal structure, and grain-size distribution from its debris-laden basal ice source. Sediment flow deposits and ice-slope colluvium (deposited by ablational slope processes) have properties developed by resedimentation mechanisms. Melt-out till ranges from structureless to stratified with interspersed lenses and discontinuous laminae, and generally possesses a well-defined pebble fabric. Sediment flow deposits show various combinations of six sedimentologic units with distinct sedimentary features and clast dispersion. Pebble fabric is absent or poorly defined, depending upon the unit's origin. Ice-slope colluvium is usually featureless, except for randomly-dispersed laminated lenses and irregularly-shaped gravelly zones in an otherwise disarrayed assemblage of particles, and is without a pebble fabric.

The Tarim river basin, a river system formed by the convergence of nine tributaries, is the most heavily glacierized watershed in arid northwest China. In the basin, there are 11 665 glaciers with a total area of 19 878 km2 and a volume of 2313 km3. Glaciers in the basin play a significant role in the water resource system. It is estimated that they provide about 133 x 108 m3 of meltwater annually, contributing 39% of the total river runoff. Under the influence of global warming, northwest China has experienced a generally warmer and drier climate since the mid-19th century. However, a so-called ‘warm and wet transition’ has occurred since the late 1980s, evidenced by an increase in both precipitation and stream discharge in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region and neighboring regions. This paper describes how glaciers in the Tarim river basin have responded to such warming and increased precipitation, and the impact of these glacier changes. We analyzed the variations of more than 3000 glaciers since the 1960s using topographical maps, high-resolution satellite images and aerial photographs of the river basin. Our results indicate that glaciers in the basin have been mostly in retreat in the past 40 years, and ice wastage has significantly influenced water resources in the Tarim river basin. Estimation by a degree-day meltwater model shows the positive anomaly in stream runoff of the Tailan river can be partly attributed to the increase in glacier runoff (amounting to one-third of the stream discharge), and a rough estimation using observed average ablation on the termini of 15 glaciers in China verifies that the mass loss calculated by a glacier area-volume relation is reasonable.

Optical characteristics of the cryoconite collected from nine glaciers in the Himalaya, Tibet and the Arctic (Canada and Svalbard) were analyzed. The spectral light reflectance (visible region) of the cryoconite on the six glaciers in the Arctic and the Himalayawas generally low, indicating high light absorbency (dark coloration) of the cryoconite. In contrast, the spectral reflectances of the cryoconite on the three glaciers in Tibet were significantly higher than on the other glaciers. There was no significant difference in the spectral reflectance of mineral particles contained in the cryoconite between the Tibetan and the other glaciers, indicating that the difference in the albedo of the cryoconites is not due to the mineral particles, but due to organic matter contained in the cryoconite. Chemical analysis of the organic matter in the cryoconites revealed that the light absorbency of cryoconites is due to the amount of humic substances, which are dark-colored organic substances, the residue of bacterial decomposition of organic matter. The cryoconite of the three glaciers in Tibet contained significantly smaller amounts of humic substances than that of the other glaciers, probably due to different biological or chemical conditions. Results show that the formation of the humic substances in the cryoconite affects its optical characteristics, and possibly affects the surface albedo of the glaciers.

The RADARSAT-1 Antarctic Mapping Project (RAMP) is a partnership between the Canadian Space Agency and the US. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The goal of the project is to create the first complete high-resolution radar mosaic of all of Antarctica for studies of Antarctic glaciology, geology coastal processes and climate. The major participants in RAMP are the Ohio State University the Alaska SAR Facility, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, GA, and Vexcel Corporation. Phase one of the project was the Antarctic Imaging Gampaign-1 (AIG) which occurred during the period 9 September-20 October 1997. The AIG relied on the abilities of the Canadian RADARSAT-1 to rotate in orbit and to image with a variety of look angles to acquire imagery from the Antarctic coast to the pole. Its primary goal was the acquisition of image data. The nearly flawless execution of the mission also enabled additional collections of exact repeat orbit data. These data, covering a large part of the interior Antarctic, are potentially suitable for interferometric analysis of surface velocity. This paper describes the AIG and the various datasets obtained! It also reviews early scientific findings on the large-scale characteristics of the ice sheet including ice divides and ice streams. The overall conclusion is that these data, which constitute complete high-resolution microwave coverage, represent a new view of the Antarctic, revealing in considerable detail the glaciology, coastal processes and geology of the Southern Continent.

Output of a 14 year integration with a high-resolution (55 km ×55 km) regional atmospheric climate model is used to study the response of Antarctic near-surface climate to the Antarctic Oscillation (AAO), the periodical strengthening and weakening of the circumpolar vortex in the Southern Hemisphere. In spite of the relatively short record, wind, temperature and precipitation show widespread and significant AAO-related signals. When the vortex is strong (high AAO index), northwesterly flow anomalies cause warming over the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) and adjacent regions in West Antarctica and the Weddell Sea. In contrast, cooling occurs in East Antarctica, the eastern Ross Ice Shelf and parts of Marie Byrd Land. Most of the annual temperature signal stems from the months March–August. The spatial distribution of the precipitation response to changes in the AAO does not mirror temperature changes but is in first order determined by the direction of flow anomalies with respect to the Antarctic topography. When the vortex is strong (high AAO index), the western AP becomes wetter, while the Ross Ice Shelf, parts of West Antarctica and the Lambert Glacier basin, East Antarctica, become drier.

The summer extent of the Arctic sea-ice cover has decreased in recent decades and there have been alterations in the timing and duration of the summer melt season. These changes in ice conditions have affected the partitioning of solar radiation in the Arctic atmosphere–ice–ocean system. the impact of sea-ice changes on solar partitioning is examined on a pan-Arctic scale using a 25 km × 25 km Equal-Area Scalable Earth Grid for the years 1979–2007. Daily values of incident solar irradiance are obtained from NCEP reanalysis products adjusted by ERA-40, and ice concentrations are determined from passive microwave satellite data. the albedo of the ice is parameterized by a five-stage process that includes dry snow, melting snow, melt pond formation, melt pond evolution, and freeze-up. the timing of these stages is governed by the onset dates of summer melt and fall freeze-up, which are determined from satellite observations. Trends of solar heat input to the ice were mixed, with increases due to longer melt seasons and decreases due to reduced ice concentration. Results indicate a general trend of increasing solar heat input to the Arctic ice–ocean system due to declines in albedo induced by decreases in ice concentration and longer melt seasons. the evolution of sea-ice albedo, and hence the total solar heating of the ice–ocean system, is more sensitive to the date of melt onset than the date of fall freeze-up. the largest increases in total annual solar heat input from 1979 to 2007, averaging as much as 4%a–1, occurred in the Chukchi Sea region. the contribution of solar heat to the ocean is increasing faster than the contribution to the ice due to the loss of sea ice.

We demonstrate an application of Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) images to detect and monitor supraglacial lakes on glaciers in the Mount Everest region in Tibet (Xizang) and Nepal. ASTER offers powerful capabilities to monitor supraglacial lakes in terms of (1) surface area, growth and disappearance (spatial resolution =15m), (2) turbidity (15m resolution), and (3) temperature (90m resolution). Preliminary results show an overall similarity of supraglacial lakes on three glaciers. Lakes have widely varying turbidity as indicated by color in visible/near-infrared bands 1–3, the largest lakes being bright blue (highly turbid), cold (near 0°C) and hydraulically connected with other lakes and supraglacial streams, while small lakes are mostly darkblue (relatively clear water), warmer (>4°C), and appear hydraulically isolated. High levels of turbidity in supraglacial lakes indicate high rates of meltwater input from streams or erosion of ice cliffs, and thus are an indirect measure relating to the activity and hydraulic integration of the lake with respect to other lakes and streams in the glacier.

The thermomechanical, three-dimensional ice-sheet model SICOPOLIS is applied to the Greenland ice sheet. Simulations over two glacial–interglacial cycles are carried out, driven by a climatic forcing interpolated between present conditions and Last Glacial Maximum anomalies. Based on the global heat-flow representation by Pollack and others (1993), we attempt to constrain the spatial pattern of the geothermal heat flux by comparing simulation results to direct measurements of basal temperatures at the GRIP, NorthGRIP, Camp Century and Dye 3 ice-core locations. The obtained heat-flux map shows an increasing trend from west to east, a high-heat-flux anomaly around NorthGRIP with values up to 135 mWm–2 and a low-heat-flux anomaly around Dye 3 with values down to 20 mW m–2. Validation is provided by the generally good fit between observed and measured ice thicknesses. Residual discrepancies are most likely due to deficiencies of the input precipitation rate and further variability of the geothermal heat flux not captured here.

Subglacially-produced drift lineations provide spatially extensive evidence of ice flow that can be used to aid reconstructions of the evolution of former ice sheets. Such reconstructions, however, are highly sensitive to assumptions made about the glaciodynamic context of lineament generation; when during the glacial cycle and where within the ice sheet were they produced. A range of glaciodynamic contexts are explored which include: sheet-flow submarginally restricted; sheet-flow pervasive; sheet- flow patch; ice stream; and surge or re-advance. Examples of each are provided. The crux of deciphering the appropriate context is whether lineations were laid down time-trans-gressively or isochronously. It is proposed that spatial and morphometric characteristics of lineations, and their association with other landforms, can be used as objective criteria to help distinguish between these cases.

A logically complete ice-sheet reconstruction must also account for the observed patches of older lineations and other relict surfaces and deposits that have survived erasure by subsequent ice flow. A range of potential preservation mechanisms are explored, including: cold- based ice; low basal-shear stresses; shallowing of the deforming layer; and basal uncoupling.

Damage due to glacier floods in the Swiss Alps occurs about once every two years at present, despite the pronounced retreat of glaciers during the twentieth century and the installation of many water reservoirs, which act as flood retention basins. Over half (60 to 70%) of the observed floods are caused by outbursts of marginal glacier lakes or sudden breaks of ice dams, and 30 to 40% by ruptures of water pockets. In a glacierized mountain region as densely populated as the Swiss Alps, even debris flows triggered by outbursts of very small water masses may be dangerous. Historical information about glacier floods in the Swiss Alps, although incomplete and heterogeneous, is used as an empirical basis for an attempt to recognize potential hazards at an early stage by considering outburst processes, volumes of water involved, potential peak-discharge values, lithology and inclination within the reach of glacier streams.

Glaciomarine sediments (GMS) comprise detrital, biogenic, and authigenic materials of two principal facies: laminated deposits and massive aqueous till. The processes governing sedimentation of the ice-rafted debris (IRD) component of GMS are investigated in the marine zone around Antarctica. Four controlling factors are identified: nature and disposition of sediments at the grounding line, transition from grounded to floating ice (ice shelves, outlet glaciers, and ice cliffs), processes of under-side melting and freezing of these ice masses, and, finally, mechanisms of iceberg calving, fragmentation, and melt-release of debris in the open ocean. Modelling studies of Brunt and Ross ice shelves suggest two main conclusions. (1) Ice shelves are of major importance for sedimentation on the continental shelf. Bulk •debris release occurs within the grounding-line zone which may frequently oscillate, producing pronounced diachronism. Bottom melting removes all debris prior to calving at the ice front so that ice shelves do not play a part in deposition in the open ocean. (2) Outlet glaciers, in contrast, have high sediment content, calve rapidly, and produce debris-rich icebergs which contribute the major portion of IRD in the ocean.

Satellite passive-microwave data have been used to calculate sea-ice extents over the period 1979–99 for the north polar sea-ice cover as a whole and for each of nine regions. Over this 21 year time period, the trend in yearly-average ice extents for the ice cover as a whole is –32 900±6100 km2 a–1 (–2.7 ±0.5% per decade), indicating a statistically significant reduction in sea-ice coverage. Regionally, the reductions are greatest in the Arctic Ocean, the Kara and Barents Seas and the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan; and seasonally, the reductions are greatest in summer, for which season the 1979–99 trend in ice extents is –41600±12 900 km2 a–1 (–4.9±1.5% per decade). On a monthly basis, the reductions are greatest in July and September for the north polar ice cover as a whole, in September for the Arctic Ocean, in June and July for the Kara and Barents Seas, and in April for the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan. Of the nine regions, only the Bering Sea and the Gulf of St Lawrence show positive ice-extent trends on a yearly-average basis. However, the increases in these two regions are not statistically significant. For the north polar region as a whole, and for the Arctic Ocean, the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan, and Hudson Bay, the negative trends in the yearly averages are statistically significant at a 99% confidence level.

Two high-resolution (1 km grid) numerical model simulations of the Amundsen Sea, West Antarctica, are used to study the role of the ocean in the mass loss and grounding line retreat of Pine Island Glacier. The first simulation uses BEDMAP bathymetry under the Pine Island ice shelf, and the second simulation uses NASA IceBridge-derived bathymetry. The IceBridge data reveal the existence of a trough from the ice-shelf edge to the grounding line, enabling warm Circumpolar Deep Water to penetrate to the grounding line, leading to higher melt rates than previously estimated. The mean melt rate for the simulation with NASA IceBridge data is 28 ma–1, much higher than previous model estimates but closer to estimates from remote sensing. Although the mean melt rate is 25% higher than in the simulation with BEDMAP bathymetry, the temporal evolution remains unchanged between the two simulations. This indicates that temporal variability of melting is mostly driven by processes outside the cavity. Spatial melt rate patterns of BEDMAP and IceBridge simulations differ significantly, with the latter in closer agreement with satellite-derived melt rate estimates of ~50ma–1 near the grounding line. Our simulations confirm that knowledge of the cavity shape and its time evolution are essential to accurately capture basal mass loss of Antarctic ice shelves.

The interaction between sea ice and glaciers has been studied for the floating tongue of Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden glacier, northeast Greenland (79°30’N, 22° W). Information from glacial geological studies, expedition reports, aerial photographs and satellite imagery is used to document the glacier front position and fast-ice conditions on millennial to decadal time-scales. The studies indicate that the stability of the floating glacier margin is dependent on the presence of a protecting fast-ice cover in front of the glacier. In periods with a permanent fast-ice cover, no calving occurs, but after fast-ice break-up the glacier responds with a large calving activity, whereby several years of accumulated glacier-ice flux suddenly breaks away. Climate-induced changes of sea-ice conditions in the Arctic Ocean with seasonal break-up of the near-shore fast ice could lead to disintegration of the floating glaciers. The present dominant mass loss by bottom melting would then to a large extent be taken over by grounding-line calving of icebergs. The local influx of fresh water from the north Greenland glaciers to the sea would be reduced and the local iceberg production would increase.

We present a new modeling framework for sea-ice mechanics based on elasto-brittle (EB) behavior. the EB framework considers sea ice as a continuous elastic plate encountering progressive damage, simulating the opening of cracks and leads. As a result of long-range elastic interactions, the stress relaxation following a damage event can induce an avalanche of damage. Damage propagates in narrow linear features, resulting in a very heterogeneous strain field. Idealized simulations of the Arctic sea-ice cover are analyzed in terms of ice strain rates and contrasted to observations and simulations performed with the classical viscous–plastic (VP) rheology. the statistical and scaling properties of ice strain rates are used as the evaluation metric. We show that EB simulations give a good representation of the shear faulting mechanism that accommodates most sea-ice deformation. the distributions of strain rates and the scaling laws of ice deformation are well captured by the EB framework, which is not the case for VP simulations. These results suggest that the properties of ice deformation emerge from elasto-brittle ice-mechanical behavior and motivate the implementation of the EB framework in a global sea-ice model.

A cryoconite granule is a biologically active aggregation of microorganisms, mineral particles and organic matter found on glacier surfaces, often within shallow pools or cryoconite holes. Observations of the microstructure of a range of cryoconite granules from locations in Svalbard and Greenland reveal their structure and composition. Whereas bulk analyses show that the mineralogy and geochemistry of these granules are broadly similar, analyses of their microstructure, using optical, epifluorescence and confocal microscopy, indicate differences in the location and quantity of photosynthetic microorganisms, heterotrophic bacteria and organic matter. Using these findings, a hypothesis on the aggregation of cryoconite is presented, centred upon multilevel aggregation by bioflocculation and filamentous binding.

The western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) region has experienced a statistically significant warming trend during the past half-century. In addition, a statistically significant anticorrelation between air temperatures and sea-ice extent, as determined from satellite passive-microwave data during the past two decades, has been observed for this region. Consistent with this strong coupling, sea-ice extent in the WAP area has trended down during this period of satellite observations. Further, much of the variability in both air temperature and sea ice in the WAP region has been shown to be influenced by contrasting maritime (warm, moist) and continental (cold, dry) climate regimes. As part of the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research program, the ecological influence of these trends and variability is being studied, and effects have already been demonstrated at all trophic levels. Here we extend earlier observations to include the past decade and focus on the annual cycles of air temperature and sea-ice extent for the past few years, with the aim of placing these recent observations within the context of changes seen in the longer-term records. The more recent years have seen an increasing maritime influence in the WAP region, with corresponding effects on the marine ecosystem.