Category Archives: Cryosphere

Arctic sea ice: a cool start to spring

Posted on 4 May, 2015 by Stephen Burt

By Danny Feltham Typing “Arctic sea ice loss” into your web search engine will quickly reveal two things: a lot of people have written about the loss of ice; and there is a remarkable amount of commentary on what it … Continue reading →

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Why Arctic melting will be erratic in the short term

Posted on 9 February, 2015 by Stephen Burt

By Ed Hawkins Arctic sea ice melts each summer, reaching its minimum extent some time in September, before refreezing through the winter. Over the past 35 years, the September sea ice extent has reduced by about 35% overall and this … Continue reading →

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Melting of floating ice and sea level

Posted on 12 January, 2015 by Stephen Burt

By Remi Tailleux Sea level rise due to global warming is an important societal issue. This motivated me a few years ago to make it part of my “Introduction to Oceanography’’ module. The main effects are easy to understand. Global sea … Continue reading →

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Measuring global snow mass – the MicroSnow workshop

Posted on 3 November, 2014 by Stephen Burt

By Mel Sandells One of the limitations for measurement of global snow mass is that the satellite observations at microwave frequencies are affected not only by how much snow is on the ground, but also the size of the snow … Continue reading →

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West Antarctic ice sheet: is a collapse underway?

Posted on 2 June, 2014 by Stephen Burt

By David Ferreira From meteorological considerations, one would expect that, in a global warming world, the Antarctic Ice Sheet would grow. With higher temperatures, air parcels can hold more water. This effect would increase the amount of moisture delivered to Antarctica … Continue reading →

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