Articles | Volume 18, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3591-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3591-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Arctic glacier snowline altitudes rise 150 m over the last 4 decades
Laura J. Larocca
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
School of Earth and Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
Cooperative Programs for the Advancement of Earth System Science, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80307, USA
School of Ocean Futures, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
James M. Lea
Department of Geography and Planning, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
Michael P. Erb
School of Earth and Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
Nicholas P. McKay
School of Earth and Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
Megan Phillips
School of Earth and Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
Kara A. Lamantia
Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
School of Earth Sciences, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Darrell S. Kaufman
School of Earth and Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
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Cited
12 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Mitigating ice sheets and mountain glaciers melt with geoengineering F. Wang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178450
- Temperature mediated albedo decline portends acceleration of North American glacier mass loss S. Williamson et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02503-x
- Using K-Means-Derived Pseudo-Labels and Machine Learning Classification on Sentinel-2 Imagery to Delineate Snow Cover Ratio and Snowline Altitude: A Case Study on White Glacier from 2019 to 2024 W. Cheung & L. Thomson https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17233872
- Climate-Driven Cryospheric Changes and Their Impacts on Glacier Runoff Dynamics in the Northern Tien Shan A. Akzharkynova et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos17010063
- Glaciers in western North America experience exceptional transient snowline rise over satellite era A. Bevington & B. Menounos https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adc9ca
- Abrupt shift in elevation-dependent snowmelt contribution in the Central Tibetan Plateau Z. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.103634
- Temporal stability of a new 40-year daily AVHRR land surface temperature dataset for the pan-Arctic region S. Dupuis et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-6027-2024
- Seasonal progression of melt and snowlines in Alaska from SAR reveals impacts of warming A. Wells et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-026-01321-y
- Glacier Snowline Altitude Estimation Integrating a Stacking Machine Learning Model and U-Net: A Case Study in the Antarctic Peninsula Y. Yu et al. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2026.3679669
- Increasing glacier end-of-summer snowline altitudes in the trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh M. Soheb et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/04353676.2026.2675789
- Divergent Terrain Responses to Arctic Warming: A Multi-Decadal Analysis in Kaffiøyra, Svalbard (1985–2023) H. Vo et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/w18060661
- Expanding Temporal Glacier Observations Through Machine Learning and Multispectral Imagery Datasets in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: A Decadal Snowline Analysis (2013–2024) W. Cheung & L. Thomson https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18060864
12 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Mitigating ice sheets and mountain glaciers melt with geoengineering F. Wang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178450
- Temperature mediated albedo decline portends acceleration of North American glacier mass loss S. Williamson et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02503-x
- Using K-Means-Derived Pseudo-Labels and Machine Learning Classification on Sentinel-2 Imagery to Delineate Snow Cover Ratio and Snowline Altitude: A Case Study on White Glacier from 2019 to 2024 W. Cheung & L. Thomson https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17233872
- Climate-Driven Cryospheric Changes and Their Impacts on Glacier Runoff Dynamics in the Northern Tien Shan A. Akzharkynova et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos17010063
- Glaciers in western North America experience exceptional transient snowline rise over satellite era A. Bevington & B. Menounos https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adc9ca
- Abrupt shift in elevation-dependent snowmelt contribution in the Central Tibetan Plateau Z. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.103634
- Temporal stability of a new 40-year daily AVHRR land surface temperature dataset for the pan-Arctic region S. Dupuis et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-6027-2024
- Seasonal progression of melt and snowlines in Alaska from SAR reveals impacts of warming A. Wells et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-026-01321-y
- Glacier Snowline Altitude Estimation Integrating a Stacking Machine Learning Model and U-Net: A Case Study in the Antarctic Peninsula Y. Yu et al. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2026.3679669
- Increasing glacier end-of-summer snowline altitudes in the trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh M. Soheb et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/04353676.2026.2675789
- Divergent Terrain Responses to Arctic Warming: A Multi-Decadal Analysis in Kaffiøyra, Svalbard (1985–2023) H. Vo et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/w18060661
- Expanding Temporal Glacier Observations Through Machine Learning and Multispectral Imagery Datasets in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: A Decadal Snowline Analysis (2013–2024) W. Cheung & L. Thomson https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18060864
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 21 Jun 2026
Short summary
Here we present summer snowline altitude (SLA) time series for 269 Arctic glaciers. Between 1984 and 2022, SLAs rose ∼ 150 m, equating to a ∼ 127 m shift per 1 °C of summer warming. SLA is most strongly correlated with annual temperature variables, highlighting their dual effect on ablation and accumulation processes. We show that SLAs are rising fastest on low-elevation glaciers and that > 50 % of the studied glaciers could have SLAs that exceed the maximum ice elevation by 2100.
Here we present summer snowline altitude (SLA) time series for 269 Arctic glaciers. Between 1984...