An aerial view of the fjord in East Greenland after a landslide-tsunami occurred in September 2023. Copernicus, Sentinel-2, EO browser

What was behind the seismic boom that wrapped Earth for 9 days? (Grist)

Sept. 30, 2024

A melting glacier collapsed, sending the mountaintop it propped up careening into the Dickson Fjord in East Greenland. The impact created a 650-foot tall tsunami, which crashed back and forth between the steep channel walls. Tyler Jones puts the event into the context of arctic climate change.

Mike Gooseff works in Alaska

Michael Gooseff elected as an AGU Fellow

Sept. 18, 2024

Michael Gooseff has been elected as a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). He was selected for his exemplary leadership and for advancing our understanding of how a changing climate affects ecosystems and freshwater supply.

Yellow mayfly on leaf. Photo by Michael Palmer. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

The mayflies are sending us a warning about urban wildfires (Washington Post)

Sept. 17, 2024

Lauren Magliozzi (CEAE researcher) offers her perspective on what happens to tiny organisms in streams affected by wildfires has meaning for humans, as well. The story told by these streams and their tiny inhabitants is clear: Urban wildfires pose a serious threat to water quality and aquatic life.

Alton Byers photographs glacial lakes forming near the terminus of the Kangchenjunga glacier in eastern Nepal. Photo by Shristi Karki.

The not-so-permanent frost (Nepali Times)

Sept. 13, 2024

Rapid thawing of the Himalayan ice-cap is compounded by little-studied melting of permafrost that destabilizes peaks, write Wilfried Haeberli and Alton Byers.

A semitransparent krill resting on a fingertip.  They are about the size of an adult human pinkie. (Credit: Sophie Webb/NOAA)

Increased krill fishing threatens whale comeback (CU Boulder Today)

Sept. 11, 2024

Antarctic krill fishing could threaten the recovery of whale species that were nearly wiped out by industrial whaling, according to a study led by CU Boulder and Stanford University, and published Sept. 10 in the journal Nature Communications. Zephyr Sylvester and Cassandra Brooks were part of the research team.

Banded cliffs rise above barren slopes and a large glacier in the dry valleys of Antarctica.  The region forms the coldest, driest, and windiest ecosystems known. (Credit: Michael Gooseff/CU Boulder)

How Earth’s most intense heat wave ever impacted life in Antarctica (CU Boulder Today)

Sept. 4, 2024

An atmospheric river brought warm, humid air to the coldest and driest corner of the planet in 2022, pushing temperatures 70 degrees above average. Mike Gooseff and Anna Wright were part of a study revealing what happened to Antarctica’s smallest animals.

A dozen Adelie penguins stand on a piece of floating ice, with a dark ocean behind and a calving ice sheet in the distance.

Southern Ocean’s hidden treasures: Scientists identify crucial wildlife conservation sites (CU Boulder Today)

Aug. 15, 2024

A team of scientists led by CU Boulder has identified 30 new areas critical for conserving biodiversity in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica. The researchers warn that without greater protection to limit human activities in these areas, native wildlife could face significant population declines. The team was led by Sarah Becker and includes Cassandra Brooks.

James Balog, founder and director of the Extreme Ice Survey and the Earth Vision Institute, leans on his camera while photographing ice in the field at Jökulsárlón, Iceland. — Credit: Svavar Jónatansson, Extreme Ice Survey

The story is in the ice: Documenting climate change through the Extreme Ice Survey (NSIDC)

Aug. 13, 2024

From 2007-2022, renowned photographer (and INSTAAR Affiliate) James Balog documented glacial change around the world in real time via timelapse imagery through a project called the Extreme Ice Survey. 1.5 million images from the project are now stored and managed at the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Simulated globe view of northern hemisphere ice sheets

The Atlantic Gulf Stream was unexpectedly strong during the last ice age – new study (The Conversation)

Aug. 12, 2024

New research suggests that the North Atlantic subtropical gyre may have been much stronger and deeper during the Last Glacial Maximum, despite the prevailing cold climate and presence of ice sheets. Tom Marchitto was part of a research team led by Jack Wharton of University College London.

A faceted white dome, home to the drilling rig of a coring expedition, sits atop the Greenland ice sheet. Photo by Christine Massey, University of Vermont.

New fossils reveal an ice-free Greenland. It’s bad news for sea level rise. (Grist)

Aug. 8, 2024

“We’re creating a world where these ice sheets are going to melt,” says Tyler Jones, explaining the results of a new study on fossilized plant and insect parts found at the bottom of Greenland's ice sheet.

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