Articles | Volume 19, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2677-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-19-2677-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
28 Jul 2025
Research article |
| 28 Jul 2025
| 28 Jul 2025
Glacier inventories reveal an acceleration of Heard Island glacier loss over recent decades
Levan G. Tielidze
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
School of Natural Sciences and Medicine, Ilia State University, Tbilisi 0162, Georgia
Andrew N. Mackintosh
Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Faculty of Science, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
Weilin Yang
School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Faculty of Science, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
Related authors
Jakob Steiner, William Armstrong, Will Kochtitzky, Robert McNabb, Rodrigo Aguayo, Tobias Bolch, Fabien Maussion, Vibhor Agarwal, Iestyn Barr, Nathaniel R. Baurley, Mike Cloutier, Katelyn DeWater, Frank Donachie, Yoann Drocourt, Siddhi Garg, Gunjan Joshi, Byron Guzman, Stanislav Kutuzov, Thomas Loriaux, Caleb Mathias, Biran Menounos, Evan Miles, Aleksandra Osika, Kaleigh Potter, Adina Racoviteanu, Brianna Rick, Miles Sterner, Guy D. Tallentire, Levan Tielidze, Rebecca White, Kunpeng Wu, and Whyjay Zheng
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-315, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-315, 2025
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
Many mountain glaciers around the world flow into lakes – exactly how many however, has never been mapped. Across a large team of experts we have now identified all glaciers that end in lakes. Only about 1% do so, but they are generally larger than those which end on land. This is important to understand, as lakes can influence the behaviour of glacier ice, including how fast it disappears. This new dataset allows us to better model glaciers at a global scale, accounting for the effect of lakes.
Levan G. Tielidze, Gennady A. Nosenko, Tatiana E. Khromova, and Frank Paul
The Cryosphere, 16, 489–504, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-489-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-489-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The new Caucasus glacier inventory derived from manual delineation of glacier outlines based on medium-resolution (Landsat, Sentinel) and high-resolution (SPOT) satellite imagery shows the accelerated glacier area loss over the last 2 decades (2000–2020). This new glacier inventory will improve our understanding of climate change impacts at a regional scale and support related modelling studies by providing high-quality validation data.
Levan G. Tielidze, Tobias Bolch, Roger D. Wheate, Stanislav S. Kutuzov, Ivan I. Lavrentiev, and Michael Zemp
The Cryosphere, 14, 585–598, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-585-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-585-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We present data of supra-glacial debris cover for 659 glaciers across the Greater Caucasus based on satellite images from the years 1986, 2000 and 2014. We combined semi-automated methods for mapping the clean ice with manual digitization of debris-covered glacier parts and calculated supra-glacial debris-covered area as the residual between these two maps. The distribution of the supra-glacial debris cover differs between northern and southern and between western, central and eastern Caucasus.
Levan G. Tielidze and Roger D. Wheate
The Cryosphere, 12, 81–94, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-81-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-81-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This is one of the first papers containing the Greater Caucasus glacier area and number change over the 1960–2014 period by individual river basins and countries. During the research we used old topographical maps and Corona imagery from the 1960s, and Landsat/ASTER imagery from 1986/2014. The separate sections and slopes have been revealed where there are the highest indices of the reduction in the area of the glaciers.
Levan G. Tielidze, Roger D. Wheate, Stanislav S. Kutuzov, Kate Doyle, and Ivan I. Lavrentiev
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2017-96, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2017-96, 2017
Revised manuscript has not been submitted
Short summary
Short summary
It is true, that research is being conducting in hard conditions in Georgia than other mountain countries of Europe. In addition, there was huge generation gap in glaciology field after the USSR colaps (1990s). But gradually we try to develop glaciology research in Georgia and in the Caucasus, as it is vitally important such a mountain region with > 2000 glaciers.
Levan G. Tielidze
The Cryosphere, 10, 713–725, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-713-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-713-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
This article presents the percentage and quantitative changes in the number and area of glaciers for all Georgian Caucasus in the years 1911–1960–2014, by individual river basins, by comparing recent Landsat and ASTER images (2014) with older topographical maps (1911, 1960) along with middle and high mountain meteorological stations data.
Jakob Steiner, William Armstrong, Will Kochtitzky, Robert McNabb, Rodrigo Aguayo, Tobias Bolch, Fabien Maussion, Vibhor Agarwal, Iestyn Barr, Nathaniel R. Baurley, Mike Cloutier, Katelyn DeWater, Frank Donachie, Yoann Drocourt, Siddhi Garg, Gunjan Joshi, Byron Guzman, Stanislav Kutuzov, Thomas Loriaux, Caleb Mathias, Biran Menounos, Evan Miles, Aleksandra Osika, Kaleigh Potter, Adina Racoviteanu, Brianna Rick, Miles Sterner, Guy D. Tallentire, Levan Tielidze, Rebecca White, Kunpeng Wu, and Whyjay Zheng
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-315, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-315, 2025
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
Many mountain glaciers around the world flow into lakes – exactly how many however, has never been mapped. Across a large team of experts we have now identified all glaciers that end in lakes. Only about 1% do so, but they are generally larger than those which end on land. This is important to understand, as lakes can influence the behaviour of glacier ice, including how fast it disappears. This new dataset allows us to better model glaciers at a global scale, accounting for the effect of lakes.
Janina Güntzel, Juliane Müller, Ralf Tiedemann, Gesine Mollenhauer, Lester Lembke-Jene, Estella Weigelt, Lasse Schopen, Niklas Wesch, Laura Kattein, Andrew N. Mackintosh, and Johann P. Klages
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2515, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2515, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
Short summary
Combined multi-proxy sediment core analyses reveal the deglaciation along the Mac. Robertson Shelf, a yet insufficiently studied sector of the East Antarctic margin. Grounding line extent towards the continental shelf break prior to ~12.5 cal. ka BP and subsequent episodic mid-shelf retreat towards the early Holocene prevented Antarctic Bottom Water formation in its current form, hence suggesting either its absence or an alternative pre-Holocene formation mechanism.
Jessica M. A. Macha, Andrew N. Mackintosh, Felicity S. McCormack, Benjamin J. Henley, Helen V. McGregor, Christiaan T. van Dalum, and Ariaan Purich
The Cryosphere, 19, 1915–1935, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1915-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1915-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Extreme El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events have global impacts, but their Antarctic impacts are poorly understood. Examining Antarctic snow accumulation anomalies of past observed extreme ENSO events, we show that accumulation changes differ between events and are insignificant during most events. Significant changes occur during 2015/16 and in Enderby Land during all extreme El Niños. Historical data limit conclusions, but future greater extremes could cause Antarctic accumulation changes.
Lawrence A. Bird, Felicity S. McCormack, Johanna Beckmann, Richard S. Jones, and Andrew N. Mackintosh
The Cryosphere, 19, 955–973, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-955-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-955-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Vanderford Glacier is the fastest-retreating glacier in East Antarctica and may have important implications for future ice loss from the Aurora Subglacial Basin. Our ice sheet model simulations suggest that grounding line retreat is driven by sub-ice-shelf basal melting, in which warm ocean waters melt ice close to the grounding line. We show that current estimates of basal melt are likely too low, highlighting the need for improved estimates and direct measurements of basal melt in the region.
Lawrence A. Bird, Vitaliy Ogarko, Laurent Ailleres, Lachlan Grose, Jeremie Giraud, Felicity S. McCormack, David E. Gwyther, Jason L. Roberts, Richard S. Jones, and Andrew N. Mackintosh
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-211, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-211, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The terrain of the seafloor has important controls on the access of warm water to below floating ice shelves around Antarctica. Here, we present an open-source method to infer what the seafloor looks like around the Antarctic continent, and within these ice shelf cavities, using measurements of the Earth’s gravitational field. We present an improved seafloor map for the Vincennes Bay region in East Antarctica and assess its impact on ice melt rates.
Cari Rand, Richard S. Jones, Andrew N. Mackintosh, Brent Goehring, and Kat Lilly
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2674, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2674, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we determine how recently samples from a mountain in East Antarctica were last covered by the East Antarctic ice sheet. By examining concentrations of carbon-14 in rock samples, we determined that all but the summit of the mountain was buried under glacial ice within the last 15 thousand years. Other methods of estimating past ice thicknesses are not sensitive enough to capture ice cover this recent, so we were previously unaware that ice at this site was thicker at this time.
Felicity S. McCormack, Jason L. Roberts, Bernd Kulessa, Alan Aitken, Christine F. Dow, Lawrence Bird, Benjamin K. Galton-Fenzi, Katharina Hochmuth, Richard S. Jones, Andrew N. Mackintosh, and Koi McArthur
The Cryosphere, 17, 4549–4569, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4549-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4549-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Changes in Antarctic surface elevation can cause changes in ice and basal water flow, impacting how much ice enters the ocean. We find that ice and basal water flow could divert from the Totten to the Vanderford Glacier, East Antarctica, under only small changes in the surface elevation, with implications for estimates of ice loss from this region. Further studies are needed to determine when this could occur and if similar diversions could occur elsewhere in Antarctica due to climate change.
Dominic Saunderson, Andrew Mackintosh, Felicity McCormack, Richard Selwyn Jones, and Ghislain Picard
The Cryosphere, 16, 4553–4569, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4553-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4553-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the variability in surface melt on the Shackleton Ice Shelf in East Antarctica over the last 2 decades (2003–2021). Using daily satellite observations and the machine learning approach of a self-organising map, we identify nine distinct spatial patterns of melt. These patterns allow comparisons of melt within and across melt seasons and highlight the importance of both air temperatures and local controls such as topography, katabatic winds, and albedo in driving surface melt.
Zhiang Xie, Dietmar Dommenget, Felicity S. McCormack, and Andrew N. Mackintosh
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 3691–3719, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-3691-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-3691-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Paleoclimate research requires better numerical model tools to explore interactions among the cryosphere, atmosphere, ocean and land surface. To explore those interactions, this study offers a tool, the GREB-ISM, which can be run for 2 million model years within 1 month on a personal computer. A series of experiments show that the GREB-ISM is able to reproduce the modern ice sheet distribution as well as classic climate oscillation features under paleoclimate conditions.
Levan G. Tielidze, Gennady A. Nosenko, Tatiana E. Khromova, and Frank Paul
The Cryosphere, 16, 489–504, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-489-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-489-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The new Caucasus glacier inventory derived from manual delineation of glacier outlines based on medium-resolution (Landsat, Sentinel) and high-resolution (SPOT) satellite imagery shows the accelerated glacier area loss over the last 2 decades (2000–2020). This new glacier inventory will improve our understanding of climate change impacts at a regional scale and support related modelling studies by providing high-quality validation data.
Jamey Stutz, Andrew Mackintosh, Kevin Norton, Ross Whitmore, Carlo Baroni, Stewart S. R. Jamieson, Richard S. Jones, Greg Balco, Maria Cristina Salvatore, Stefano Casale, Jae Il Lee, Yeong Bae Seong, Robert McKay, Lauren J. Vargo, Daniel Lowry, Perry Spector, Marcus Christl, Susan Ivy Ochs, Luigia Di Nicola, Maria Iarossi, Finlay Stuart, and Tom Woodruff
The Cryosphere, 15, 5447–5471, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5447-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5447-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the long-term behaviour of ice sheets is essential to projecting future changes due to climate change. In this study, we use rocks deposited along the margin of the David Glacier, one of the largest glacier systems in the world, to reveal a rapid thinning event initiated over 7000 years ago and endured for ~ 2000 years. Using physical models, we show that subglacial topography and ocean heat are important drivers for change along this sector of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Levan G. Tielidze, Tobias Bolch, Roger D. Wheate, Stanislav S. Kutuzov, Ivan I. Lavrentiev, and Michael Zemp
The Cryosphere, 14, 585–598, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-585-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-585-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We present data of supra-glacial debris cover for 659 glaciers across the Greater Caucasus based on satellite images from the years 1986, 2000 and 2014. We combined semi-automated methods for mapping the clean ice with manual digitization of debris-covered glacier parts and calculated supra-glacial debris-covered area as the residual between these two maps. The distribution of the supra-glacial debris cover differs between northern and southern and between western, central and eastern Caucasus.
Levan G. Tielidze and Roger D. Wheate
The Cryosphere, 12, 81–94, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-81-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-81-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This is one of the first papers containing the Greater Caucasus glacier area and number change over the 1960–2014 period by individual river basins and countries. During the research we used old topographical maps and Corona imagery from the 1960s, and Landsat/ASTER imagery from 1986/2014. The separate sections and slopes have been revealed where there are the highest indices of the reduction in the area of the glaciers.
Levan G. Tielidze, Roger D. Wheate, Stanislav S. Kutuzov, Kate Doyle, and Ivan I. Lavrentiev
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2017-96, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2017-96, 2017
Revised manuscript has not been submitted
Short summary
Short summary
It is true, that research is being conducting in hard conditions in Georgia than other mountain countries of Europe. In addition, there was huge generation gap in glaciology field after the USSR colaps (1990s). But gradually we try to develop glaciology research in Georgia and in the Caucasus, as it is vitally important such a mountain region with > 2000 glaciers.
Levan G. Tielidze
The Cryosphere, 10, 713–725, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-713-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-713-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
This article presents the percentage and quantitative changes in the number and area of glaciers for all Georgian Caucasus in the years 1911–1960–2014, by individual river basins, by comparing recent Landsat and ASTER images (2014) with older topographical maps (1911, 1960) along with middle and high mountain meteorological stations data.
Related subject area
Discipline: Glaciers | Subject: Alpine Glaciers
Automated snow cover detection on mountain glaciers using spaceborne imagery and machine learning
Spectral characteristics of seismic ambient vibrations reveal changes in the subglacial environment of Glacier de la Plaine Morte, Switzerland
Recent observations and glacier modeling point towards near-complete glacier loss in western Austria (Ötztal and Stubai mountain range) if 1.5 °C is not met
The glaciers of the Dolomites: the last 40 years of melting
Reconstructed glacier area and volume changes in the European Alps since the Little Ice Age
Separating snow and ice melt using water stable isotopes and glacio-hydrological modelling: towards improving the application of isotope analyses in highly glacierized catchments
Ongoing firn warming at Eclipse Icefield, Yukon, indicates potential widespread meltwater percolation and retention in firn pack across the St. Elias Range
Wind and Topography Underlie Correlation Between Seasonal Snowpack, Mountain Glaciers, and Late-Summer Streamflow
Distributed surface mass balance of an avalanche-fed glacier
4D imaging of a near-terminus glacier collapse feature through high-density GPR acquisitions
Modelling Cold Firn Evolution at Colle Gnifetti, Swiss/Italian Alps
Unprecedented 21st century glacier loss on Mt. Hood, Oregon, USA
Mapping and characterization of avalanches on mountain glaciers with Sentinel-1 satellite imagery
Brief communication: Recent estimates of glacier mass loss for western North America from laser altimetry
The Aneto glacier's (Central Pyrenees) evolution from 1981 to 2022: ice loss observed from historic aerial image photogrammetry and remote sensing techniques
Modelling point mass balance for the glaciers of the Central European Alps using machine learning techniques
Consistent histories of anthropogenic western European air pollution preserved in different Alpine ice cores
Brief communication: Non-linear sensitivity of glacier mass balance to climate attested by temperature-index models
Halving of Swiss glacier volume since 1931 observed from terrestrial image photogrammetry
Land- to lake-terminating transition triggers dynamic thinning of a Bhutanese glacier
Brief communication: A framework to classify glaciers for water resource evaluation and management in the Southern Andes
Strong acceleration of glacier area loss in the Greater Caucasus between 2000 and 2020
Ice volume and basal topography estimation using geostatistical methods and ground-penetrating radar measurements: application to the Tsanfleuron and Scex Rouge glaciers, Swiss Alps
Significant mass loss in the accumulation area of the Adamello glacier indicated by the chronology of a 46 m ice core
Brief communication: Do 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 °C matter for the future evolution of Alpine glaciers?
A new automatic approach for extracting glacier centerlines based on Euclidean allocation
Spatially and temporally resolved ice loss in High Mountain Asia and the Gulf of Alaska observed by CryoSat-2 swath altimetry between 2010 and 2019
Crystallographic analysis of temperate ice on Rhonegletscher, Swiss Alps
Debris cover and the thinning of Kennicott Glacier, Alaska: in situ measurements, automated ice cliff delineation and distributed melt estimates
Small-scale spatial variability in bare-ice reflectance at Jamtalferner, Austria
Numerical modeling of the dynamics of the Mer de Glace glacier, French Alps: comparison with past observations and forecasting of near-future evolution
Monitoring the seasonal changes of an englacial conduit network using repeated ground-penetrating radar measurements
Possible biases in scaling-based estimates of glacier change: a case study in the Himalaya
Spatial and temporal variations in glacier aerodynamic surface roughness during the melting season, as estimated at the August-one ice cap, Qilian mountains, China
Strong changes in englacial temperatures despite insignificant changes in ice thickness at Dôme du Goûter glacier (Mont Blanc area)
Supra-glacial debris cover changes in the Greater Caucasus from 1986 to 2014
Glacier thickness estimations of alpine glaciers using data and modeling constraints
Unravelling the evolution of Zmuttgletscher and its debris cover since the end of the Little Ice Age
Modelling the future evolution of glaciers in the European Alps under the EURO-CORDEX RCM ensemble
Robust uncertainty assessment of the spatio-temporal transferability of glacier mass and energy balance models
Impacts of topographic shading on direct solar radiation for valley glaciers in complex topography
19th century glacier retreat in the Alps preceded the emergence of industrial black carbon deposition on high-alpine glaciers
Iron oxides in the cryoconite of glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau: abundance, speciation and implications
Numerical reconstructions of the flow and basal conditions of the Rhine glacier, European Central Alps, at the Last Glacial Maximum
Rainey Aberle, Ellyn Enderlin, Shad O'Neel, Caitlyn Florentine, Louis Sass, Adam Dickson, Hans-Peter Marshall, and Alejandro Flores
The Cryosphere, 19, 1675–1693, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1675-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1675-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Tracking seasonal snow on glaciers is critical for understanding glacier health. Yet previous work has not directly compared machine learning algorithms for snow classification across satellite image products. To address this, we developed a new automated workflow for tracking seasonal snow on glaciers using several image products and machine learning models. Applying this method can help provide insights into glacier health, water resources, and the effects of climate change on snow cover.
Janneke van Ginkel, Fabian Walter, Fabian Lindner, Miroslav Hallo, Matthias Huss, and Donat Fäh
The Cryosphere, 19, 1469–1490, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1469-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1469-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study on Glacier de la Plaine Morte in Switzerland employs various passive seismic analysis methods to identify complex hydraulic behaviours at the ice–bedrock interface. In 4 months of seismic records, we detect spatio-temporal variations in the glacier's basal interface, following the drainage of an ice-marginal lake. We identify a low-velocity layer, whose properties are determined using modelling techniques. This low-velocity layer results from temporary water storage subglacially.
Lea Hartl, Patrick Schmitt, Lilian Schuster, Kay Helfricht, Jakob Abermann, and Fabien Maussion
The Cryosphere, 19, 1431–1452, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1431-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1431-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We use regional observations of glacier area and volume change to inform glacier evolution modeling in the Ötztal and Stubai range (Austrian Alps) until 2100 in different climate scenarios. Glaciers in the region lost 23 % of their volume between 2006 and 2017. Under current warming trajectories, glacier loss in the region is expected to be near-total by 2075. We show that integrating regional calibration and validation data in glacier models is important to improve confidence in projections.
Andrea Securo, Costanza Del Gobbo, Giovanni Baccolo, Carlo Barbante, Michele Citterio, Fabrizio De Blasi, Marco Marcer, Mauro Valt, and Renato R. Colucci
The Cryosphere, 19, 1335–1352, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1335-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1335-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We have reconstructed the multi-decadal (1980s–2023) ice mass changes for all the current mountain glaciers in the Dolomites. We used historical aerial photographs, drone surveys, and lidar to fill the glaciological data gap for the region. We observed an alarming decline in both glacier area and volume, with some of the glaciers showing smaller losses due to local topography and debris cover feedback. We strongly recommend more specific monitoring of these glaciers.
Johannes Reinthaler and Frank Paul
The Cryosphere, 19, 753–767, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-753-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-753-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Since the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA) around 1850, glaciers in the European Alps have melted considerably. We collected LIA glacier extents, calculated changes using geoinformatics, and found a 57 % decrease in area (4244 km² to 1806 km²) and a 64 % decrease in volume (280 km³ to 100 km³) by 2015. The average glacier surface lowering was 44 m. After 2000, elevation change rates tripled. Over 1938 glaciers melted away completely, impacting entire regions.
Tom Müller, Mauro Fischer, Stuart N. Lane, and Bettina Schaefli
The Cryosphere, 19, 423–458, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-423-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-423-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Based on extensive field observations in a highly glacierized catchment in the Swiss Alps, we develop a combined isotopic and glacio-hydrological model. We show that water stable isotopes may help to better constrain model parameters, especially those linked to water transfer. However, we highlight that separating snow and ice melt for temperate glaciers based on isotope mixing models alone is not advised and should only be considered if their isotopic signatures have clearly different values.
Ingalise Kindstedt, Dominic Winski, C. Max Stevens, Emma Skelton, Luke Copland, Karl Kreutz, Mikaila Mannello, Renée Clavette, Jacob Holmes, Mary Albert, and Scott N. Williamson
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3807, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3807, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric warming over mountain glaciers is leading to increased warming and melting of snow as it compresses into glacier ice. This affects both regional hydrology and climate records contained in the ice. Here we use field observations and modeling to show that surface melting and percolation at Eclipse Icefield (Yukon, Canada) is increasing with an increase in extreme melt events, and that compressing snow at Eclipse is likely to continue warming even if air temperatures remain stable.
Elijah N. Boardman, Andrew G. Fountain, Joseph W. Boardman, Thomas H. Painter, Evan W. Burgess, Laura Wilson, and Adrian A. Harpold
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3862, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3862, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We use repeat airborne lidar surveys (which provide high resolution topography) to map the seasonal snowpack and estimate mass loss from glaciers, snowfields, rock glaciers, and other forms of perennial snow and ice in the U.S. Rocky Mountains. Our results show that topography, especially wind drifting, is a fundamental driver of differences in snow persistence, glaciation, and streamflow across five mountain watersheds.
Marin Kneib, Amaury Dehecq, Adrien Gilbert, Auguste Basset, Evan S. Miles, Guillaume Jouvet, Bruno Jourdain, Etienne Ducasse, Luc Beraud, Antoine Rabatel, Jérémie Mouginot, Guillem Carcanade, Olivier Laarman, Fanny Brun, and Delphine Six
The Cryosphere, 18, 5965–5983, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5965-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5965-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Avalanches contribute to increasing the accumulation on mountain glaciers by redistributing snow from surrounding mountains slopes. Here we quantified the contribution of avalanches to the mass balance of Argentière Glacier in the French Alps, by combining satellite and field observations to model the glacier dynamics. We show that the contribution of avalanches locally increases the accumulation by 60–70 % and that accounting for this effect results in less ice loss by the end of the century.
Bastien Ruols, Johanna Klahold, Daniel Farinotti, and James Irving
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3074, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3074, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We demonstrate the use of a drone-based ground-penetrating radar (GPR) system to gather high-resolution, high-density 4D data over a near-terminus glacier collapse feature. We monitor the growth of an air cavity and the evolution of the subglacial drainage system, providing new insights into the dynamics of collapse events. This work highlights potential future applications of drone-based GPR for monitoring glaciers, in particular in regions which are inaccessible with surface-based methods.
Marcus Gastaldello, Enrico Mattea, Martin Hoelzle, and Horst Machguth
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2892, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2892, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Inside the highest glaciers of the Alps lies an invaluable archive of data revealing the Earth's historic climate. However, as the atmosphere warms due to climate change, so does the glaciers' internal temperature – threatening the future longevity of these records. Using our customised Python model, validated by on-site measurements, we show how a doubling in surface melt has caused a warming of 1.5 °C in the past 21 years and explore the challenges of modelling in complex mountainous terrain.
Nicolas Bakken-French, Stephen J. Boyer, B. Clay Southworth, Megan Thayne, Dylan H. Rood, and Anders E. Carlson
The Cryosphere, 18, 4517–4530, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4517-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4517-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Repeat photography, field mapping, and remote sensing find that glaciers on Mt. Hood, Oregon, have lost about 25 % of their area in the first 2 decades of the 21st century and 17 % of their area in the last 7–8 years. The 21st century recession rate is more than 3 times faster than the 20th century average and 1.9 times faster than the fastest period of retreat within the 20th century. This unprecedented retreat corresponds to regional summer warming of 1.7–1.8°C relative to the early 1900s.
Marin Kneib, Amaury Dehecq, Fanny Brun, Fatima Karbou, Laurane Charrier, Silvan Leinss, Patrick Wagnon, and Fabien Maussion
The Cryosphere, 18, 2809–2830, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2809-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2809-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Avalanches are important for the mass balance of mountain glaciers, but few data exist on where and when they occur and which glaciers they affect the most. We developed an approach to map avalanches over large glaciated areas and long periods of time using satellite radar data. The application of this method to various regions in the Alps and High Mountain Asia reveals the variability of avalanches on these glaciers and provides key data to better represent these processes in glacier models.
Brian Menounos, Alex Gardner, Caitlyn Florentine, and Andrew Fountain
The Cryosphere, 18, 889–894, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-889-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-889-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Glaciers in western North American outside of Alaska are often overlooked in global studies because their potential to contribute to changes in sea level is small. Nonetheless, these glaciers represent important sources of freshwater, especially during times of drought. We show that these glaciers lost mass at a rate of about 12 Gt yr-1 for about the period 2013–2021; the rate of mass loss over the period 2018–2022 was similar.
Ixeia Vidaller, Eñaut Izagirre, Luis Mariano del Rio, Esteban Alonso-González, Francisco Rojas-Heredia, Enrique Serrano, Ana Moreno, Juan Ignacio López-Moreno, and Jesús Revuelto
The Cryosphere, 17, 3177–3192, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3177-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3177-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Aneto glacier, the largest glacier in the Pyrenees, has shown continuous surface and ice thickness losses in the last decades. In this study, we examine changes in its surface and ice thickness for 1981–2022 and the remaining ice thickness in 2020. During these 41 years, the glacier has shrunk by 64.7 %, and the ice thickness has decreased by 30.5 m on average. The mean ice thickness in 2022 was 11.9 m, compared to 32.9 m in 1981. The results highlight the critical situation of the glacier.
Ritu Anilkumar, Rishikesh Bharti, Dibyajyoti Chutia, and Shiv Prasad Aggarwal
The Cryosphere, 17, 2811–2828, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2811-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2811-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Our analysis demonstrates the capability of machine learning models in estimating glacier mass balance in terms of performance metrics and dataset availability. Feature importance analysis suggests that ablation features are significant. This is in agreement with the predominantly negative mass balance observations. We show that ensemble tree models typically depict the best performance. However, neural network models are preferable for biased inputs and kernel-based models for smaller datasets.
Anja Eichler, Michel Legrand, Theo M. Jenk, Susanne Preunkert, Camilla Andersson, Sabine Eckhardt, Magnuz Engardt, Andreas Plach, and Margit Schwikowski
The Cryosphere, 17, 2119–2137, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2119-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2119-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate how a 250-year history of the emission of air pollutants (major inorganic aerosol constituents, black carbon, and trace species) is preserved in ice cores from four sites in the European Alps. The observed uniform timing in species-dependent longer-term concentration changes reveals that the different ice-core records provide a consistent, spatially representative signal of the pollution history from western European countries.
Christian Vincent and Emmanuel Thibert
The Cryosphere, 17, 1989–1995, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1989-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1989-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Temperature-index models have been widely used for glacier mass projections in the future. The ability of these models to capture non-linear responses of glacier mass balance (MB) to high deviations in air temperature and solid precipitation has recently been questioned by mass balance simulations employing advanced machine-learning techniques. Here, we confirmed that temperature-index models are capable of detecting non-linear responses of glacier MB to temperature and precipitation changes.
Erik Schytt Mannerfelt, Amaury Dehecq, Romain Hugonnet, Elias Hodel, Matthias Huss, Andreas Bauder, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 16, 3249–3268, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3249-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3249-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
How glaciers have responded to climate change over the last 20 years is well-known, but earlier data are much more scarce. We change this in Switzerland by using 22 000 photographs taken from mountain tops between the world wars and find a halving of Swiss glacier volume since 1931. This was done through new automated processing techniques that we created. The data are interesting for more than just glaciers, such as mapping forest changes, landslides, and human impacts on the terrain.
Yota Sato, Koji Fujita, Hiroshi Inoue, Akiko Sakai, and Karma
The Cryosphere, 16, 2643–2654, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2643-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2643-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate fluctuations in Bhutanese lake-terminating glaciers focusing on the dynamics change before and after proglacial lake formation at Thorthormi Glacier (TG) based on photogrammetry, satellite, and GPS surveys. The thinning rate of TG became double compared to before proglacial lake formation, and the flow velocity has also sped up considerably. Those changes would be due to the reduction in longitudinal ice compression by the detachment of the glacier terminus from the end moraine.
Nicole Schaffer and Shelley MacDonell
The Cryosphere, 16, 1779–1791, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1779-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1779-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Over the last 2 decades the importance of Andean glaciers, particularly as water resources, has been recognized in both scientific literature and the public sphere. This has led to the inclusion of glaciers in environmental impact assessment and the development of glacier protection laws. We propose three categories that group glaciers based on their environmental sensitivity to hopefully help facilitate the effective application of these measures and evaluation of water resources in general.
Levan G. Tielidze, Gennady A. Nosenko, Tatiana E. Khromova, and Frank Paul
The Cryosphere, 16, 489–504, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-489-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-489-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The new Caucasus glacier inventory derived from manual delineation of glacier outlines based on medium-resolution (Landsat, Sentinel) and high-resolution (SPOT) satellite imagery shows the accelerated glacier area loss over the last 2 decades (2000–2020). This new glacier inventory will improve our understanding of climate change impacts at a regional scale and support related modelling studies by providing high-quality validation data.
Alexis Neven, Valentin Dall'Alba, Przemysław Juda, Julien Straubhaar, and Philippe Renard
The Cryosphere, 15, 5169–5186, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5169-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5169-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We present and compare different geostatistical methods for underglacial bedrock interpolation. Variogram-based interpolations are compared with a multipoint statistics approach on both test cases and real glaciers. Using the modeled bedrock, the ice volume for the Scex Rouge and Tsanfleuron glaciers (Swiss Alps) was estimated to be 113.9 ± 1.6 million cubic meters. Complex karstic geomorphological features are reproduced and can be used to improve the precision of underglacial flow estimation.
Daniela Festi, Margit Schwikowski, Valter Maggi, Klaus Oeggl, and Theo Manuel Jenk
The Cryosphere, 15, 4135–4143, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4135-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4135-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In our study we dated a 46 m deep ice core retrieved from the Adamello glacier (Central Italian Alps). We obtained a timescale combining the results of radionuclides 210Pb and 137Cs with annual layer counting derived from pollen and refractory black carbon concentrations. Our results indicate that the surface of the glacier is older than the drilling date of 2016 by about 20 years, therefore revealing that the glacier is at high risk of collapsing under current climate warming conditions.
Loris Compagno, Sarah Eggs, Matthias Huss, Harry Zekollari, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 15, 2593–2599, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2593-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2593-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Recently, discussions have focused on the difference in limiting the increase in global average temperatures to below 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 °C compared to preindustrial levels. Here, we assess the impacts that such different scenarios would have on both the future evolution of glaciers in the European Alps and the water resources they provide. Our results show that the different temperature targets have important implications for the changes predicted until 2100.
Dahong Zhang, Xiaojun Yao, Hongyu Duan, Shiyin Liu, Wanqin Guo, Meiping Sun, and Dazhi Li
The Cryosphere, 15, 1955–1973, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1955-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1955-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Glacier centerlines are crucial input for many glaciological applications. We propose a new algorithm to derive glacier centerlines and implement the corresponding program in Python language. Application of this method to 48 571 glaciers in the second Chinese glacier inventory automatically yielded the corresponding glacier centerlines with an average computing time of 20.96 s, a success rate of 100 % and a comprehensive accuracy of 94.34 %.
Livia Jakob, Noel Gourmelen, Martin Ewart, and Stephen Plummer
The Cryosphere, 15, 1845–1862, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1845-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1845-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Glaciers and ice caps are currently the largest contributor to sea level rise. Global monitoring of these regions is a challenging task, and significant differences remain between current estimates. This study looks at glacier changes in High Mountain Asia and the Gulf of Alaska using a new technique, which for the first time makes the use of satellite radar altimetry for mapping ice mass loss over mountain glacier regions possible.
Sebastian Hellmann, Johanna Kerch, Ilka Weikusat, Andreas Bauder, Melchior Grab, Guillaume Jouvet, Margit Schwikowski, and Hansruedi Maurer
The Cryosphere, 15, 677–694, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-677-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-677-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We analyse the orientation of ice crystals in an Alpine glacier and compare this orientation with the ice flow direction. We found that the crystals orient in the direction of the largest stress which is in the flow direction in the upper parts of the glacier and in the vertical direction for deeper zones of the glacier. The grains cluster around this maximum stress direction, in particular four-point maxima, most likely as a result of recrystallisation under relatively warm conditions.
Leif S. Anderson, William H. Armstrong, Robert S. Anderson, and Pascal Buri
The Cryosphere, 15, 265–282, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-265-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-265-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Many glaciers are thinning rapidly beneath debris cover (loose rock) that reduces melt, including Kennicott Glacier in Alaska. This contradiction has been explained by melt hotspots, such as ice cliffs, scattered within the debris cover. However, at Kennicott Glacier declining ice flow explains the rapid thinning. Through this study, Kennicott Glacier is now the first glacier in Alaska, and the largest glacier globally, where melt across its debris-covered tongue has been rigorously quantified.
Lea Hartl, Lucia Felbauer, Gabriele Schwaizer, and Andrea Fischer
The Cryosphere, 14, 4063–4081, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4063-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4063-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
When glaciers become snow-free in summer, darker glacier ice is exposed. The ice surface is darker than snow and absorbs more radiation, which increases ice melt. We measured how much radiation is reflected at different wavelengths in the ablation zone of Jamtalferner, Austria. Due to impurities and water on the ice surface there are large variations in reflectance. Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 surface reflectance products do not capture the full range of reflectance found on the glacier.
Vincent Peyaud, Coline Bouchayer, Olivier Gagliardini, Christian Vincent, Fabien Gillet-Chaulet, Delphine Six, and Olivier Laarman
The Cryosphere, 14, 3979–3994, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3979-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3979-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Alpine glaciers are retreating at an accelerating rate in a warming climate. Numerical models allow us to study and anticipate these changes, but the performance of a model is difficult to evaluate. So we compared an ice flow model with the long dataset of observations obtained between 1979 and 2015 on Mer de Glace (Mont Blanc area). The model accurately reconstructs the past evolution of the glacier. We simulate the future evolution of Mer de Glace; it could retreat by 2 to 6 km by 2050.
Gregory Church, Melchior Grab, Cédric Schmelzbach, Andreas Bauder, and Hansruedi Maurer
The Cryosphere, 14, 3269–3286, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3269-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3269-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In this field study, we repeated ground-penetrating radar measurements over an active englacial channel network that transports meltwater through the glacier. We successfully imaged the englacial meltwater pathway and were able to delimitate the channel's shape. Meltwater from the glacier can impact the glacier's dynamics if it reaches the ice–bed interface, and therefore monitoring these englacial drainage networks is important to understand how these networks behave throughout a season.
Argha Banerjee, Disha Patil, and Ajinkya Jadhav
The Cryosphere, 14, 3235–3247, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3235-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3235-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Simple models of glacier dynamics based on volume–area scaling underestimate climate sensitivity and response time of glaciers. Consequently, they may predict a faster response and a smaller long-term glacier loss. These biases in scaling models are established theoretically and are analysed in detail by simulating the step response of a set of 703 Himalayan glaciers separately by three different models: a scaling model, a 2-D shallow-ice approximation model, and a linear-response model.
Junfeng Liu, Rensheng Chen, and Chuntan Han
The Cryosphere, 14, 967–984, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-967-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-967-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Glacier surface roughness during melting season was observed by manual and automatic photogrammetry. Surface roughness was larger at the snow and ice transition zone than in fully snow- or ice-covered areas. Persistent snowfall and rainfall both reduce surface roughness. High or rising turbulent heat as a component of surface energy balance tended to produce a smooth ice surface; low or decreasing turbulent heat tended to produce a rougher surface.
Christian Vincent, Adrien Gilbert, Bruno Jourdain, Luc Piard, Patrick Ginot, Vladimir Mikhalenko, Philippe Possenti, Emmanuel Le Meur, Olivier Laarman, and Delphine Six
The Cryosphere, 14, 925–934, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-925-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-925-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We observed very low glacier thickness changes over the last decades at very-high-elevation glaciated areas on Mont Blanc. Conversely, measurements performed in deep boreholes since 1994 reveal strong changes in englacial temperature reaching 1.5 °C at a depth of 50 m. We conclude that at such very high elevations, current changes in climate do not lead to visible changes in glacier thickness but cause invisible changes within the glacier in terms of englacial temperatures.
Levan G. Tielidze, Tobias Bolch, Roger D. Wheate, Stanislav S. Kutuzov, Ivan I. Lavrentiev, and Michael Zemp
The Cryosphere, 14, 585–598, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-585-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-585-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We present data of supra-glacial debris cover for 659 glaciers across the Greater Caucasus based on satellite images from the years 1986, 2000 and 2014. We combined semi-automated methods for mapping the clean ice with manual digitization of debris-covered glacier parts and calculated supra-glacial debris-covered area as the residual between these two maps. The distribution of the supra-glacial debris cover differs between northern and southern and between western, central and eastern Caucasus.
Lisbeth Langhammer, Melchior Grab, Andreas Bauder, and Hansruedi Maurer
The Cryosphere, 13, 2189–2202, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2189-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2189-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We have developed a novel procedure for glacier thickness estimations that combines traditional glaciological modeling constraints with ground-truth data, for example, those obtained with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) measurements. This procedure is very useful for determining ice volume when only limited data are available. Furthermore, we outline a strategy for acquiring GPR data on glaciers, such that the cost/benefit ratio is optimized.
Nico Mölg, Tobias Bolch, Andrea Walter, and Andreas Vieli
The Cryosphere, 13, 1889–1909, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1889-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1889-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Debris can partly protect glaciers from melting. But many debris-covered glaciers change similar to debris-free glaciers. To better understand the debris influence we investigated 150 years of evolution of Zmutt Glacier in Switzerland. We found an increase in debris extent over time and a link to glacier flow velocity changes. We also found an influence of debris on the melt locally, but only a small volume change reduction over the whole glacier, also because of the influence of ice cliffs.
Harry Zekollari, Matthias Huss, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 13, 1125–1146, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1125-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1125-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Glaciers in the European Alps play an important role in the hydrological cycle, act as a source for hydroelectricity and have a large touristic importance. We model the future evolution of all glaciers in the Alps with a novel model that combines both ice flow and melt processes. We find that under a limited warming scenario about one-third of the present-day ice volume will still be present by the end of the century, while under strong warming more than 90 % of the volume will be lost by 2100.
Tobias Zolles, Fabien Maussion, Stephan Peter Galos, Wolfgang Gurgiser, and Lindsey Nicholson
The Cryosphere, 13, 469–489, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-469-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-469-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
A mass and energy balance model was subjected to sensitivity and uncertainty analysis on two different Alpine glaciers. The global sensitivity analysis allowed for a mass balance measurement independent assessment of the model sensitivity and functioned as a reduction of the model free parameter space. A novel approach of a multi-objective optimization estimates the uncertainty of the simulated mass balance and the energy fluxes. The final model uncertainty is up to 1300 kg m−3 per year.
Matthew Olson and Summer Rupper
The Cryosphere, 13, 29–40, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-29-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-29-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Solar radiation is the largest energy input for most alpine glaciers. However, many models oversimplify the influence of topographic shading. Also, no systematic studies have explored the variable impact of shading on glacier ice. We find that shading can significantly impact modeled solar radiation, particularly at low elevations, at high latitudes, and for glaciers with a north/south orientation. Excluding the effects of shading will overestimate modeled solar radiation for alpine glaciers.
Michael Sigl, Nerilie J. Abram, Jacopo Gabrieli, Theo M. Jenk, Dimitri Osmont, and Margit Schwikowski
The Cryosphere, 12, 3311–3331, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3311-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3311-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The fast retreat of Alpine glaciers since the mid-19th century documented in photographs is used as a symbol for the human impact on global climate, yet the key driving forces remain elusive. Here we argue that not industrial soot but volcanic eruptions were responsible for an apparently accelerated deglaciation starting in the 1850s. Our findings support a negligible role of human activity in forcing glacier recession at the end of the Little Ice Age, highlighting the role of natural drivers.
Zhiyuan Cong, Shaopeng Gao, Wancang Zhao, Xin Wang, Guangming Wu, Yulan Zhang, Shichang Kang, Yongqin Liu, and Junfeng Ji
The Cryosphere, 12, 3177–3186, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3177-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3177-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Cryoconites from glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding area were studied for iron oxides. We found that goethite is the predominant iron oxide form. Using the abundance, speciation and optical properties of iron oxides, the total light absorption was quantitatively attributed to goethite, hematite, black carbon and organic matter. Such findings are essential to understand the relative significance of anthropogenic and natural impacts.
Denis Cohen, Fabien Gillet-Chaulet, Wilfried Haeberli, Horst Machguth, and Urs H. Fischer
The Cryosphere, 12, 2515–2544, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2515-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2515-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
As part of an integrative study about the safety of repositories for radioactive waste under ice age conditions in Switzerland, we modeled the flow of ice of the Rhine glacier at the Last Glacial Maximum to determine conditions at the ice–bed interface. Results indicate that portions of the ice lobes were at the melting temperature and ice was sliding, two conditions necessary for erosion by glacier. Conditions at the bed of the ice lobes were affected by climate and also by topography.
Cited articles
Allison, I. and Thost, D. E.: Heard Island glacier fluctuations and climatic change, Australian Antarctic Data Centre, https://data.aad.gov.au/metadata/records/ASAC_1158 (last access: January 2025), 2000.
Allison, I. F.: A preliminary investigation of the physical characteristics of the Vahsel Glacier, Heard Island, ANARE Scientific Reports Series A(4), Glaciology, Publication 128, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, https://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an000066473398 (last access: December 2024), 1980.
Allison, I. F. and Keage, P. L.: Recent changes in the glaciers of Heard Island, Polar Rec., 23, 255–272, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0032247400007099, 1986.
Anderson, B. and Mackintosh, A.: Temperature change is the major driver of late-glacial and Holocene glacier fluctuations in New Zealand, Geology, 34, 121–124, https://doi.org/10.1130/G22151.1, 2006.
Anderson, B. and Mackintosh, A.: Controls on mass balance sensitivity of maritime glaciers in the Southern Alps, New Zealand: The role of debris cover, J. Geophys. Res., 117, F01003, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002064, 2012.
Anderson, B., Mackintosh, A., Stumm, D., George, L., Kerr, T., Winter-Billington, A., and Fitzsimons, S.: Climate sensitivity of a high-precipitation glacier in New Zealand, J. Glaciol., 56, 114–128, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214310791190929, 2010.
Aubert de la Rue, E.: Un Voyage d'exploration dans les mers Australes. Iles Heard, Archipel de Kerguelen, ile St. Paul, Rev. Geogr. Phys. Geol., 11, 97–146, 1929.
Auger, M., Morrow, R., Kestenare, E., Sallée, J.-B., and Cowley, R.: Southern Ocean in-situ temperature trends over 25 years emerge from interannual variability, Nat. Commun., 12, 514, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20781-1, 2021.
Barr, I. D., Lynch, C. M., Mullan, D., De Siena, L., and Spagnolo, M.: Volcanic impacts on modern glaciers: A global synthesis, Earth-Sci. Rev., 182, 0012-8252, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.04.008, 2018.
Berthier, E., Le Bris, R., Mabileau, L., Testut, L., and Rémy, F.: Ice wastage on the Kerguelen Islands (49° S, 69° E) between 1963 and 2006, J. Geophys. Res., 114, F03005, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JF001192, 2009.
Berthier, E., Lebreton, J., Fontannaz, D., Hosford, S., Belart, J. M.-C., Brun, F., Andreassen, L. M., Menounos, B., and Blondel, C.: The Pléiades Glacier Observatory: high-resolution digital elevation models and ortho-imagery to monitor glacier change, The Cryosphere, 18, 5551–5571, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5551-2024, 2024.
Bhambri, R., Bolch, T., Chaujar, R. K., and Kulshreshtha, S. C.: Glacier changes in the Garhwal Himalaya, India, from 1968 to 2006 based on remote sensing, J. Glaciol., 57, 543–556, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214311796905604, 2011.
Bolch, T., Menounos, B., and Wheate, R.: Landsat-based inventory of glaciers in western Canada, 1985–2005, Remote Sens. Environ., 114, 127–137, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2009.08.015, 2010.
Bosson, J. B., Huss, M., Cauvy-Fraunié, S., Clément, J. C., Costes, G., Fischer, M., Poulenard, J., and Arthaud, F.: Future emergence of new ecosystems caused by glacial retreat, Nature, 620, 562–569, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06302-2, 2023.
Budd, G. M.: Heard Island Expedition, 1963, Polar Rec., 12, 193–195, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0032247400054619, 1964.
Budd, G. M.: Heard Island Reconnaissance, 1969, Polar Rec., 15, 335–336, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0032247400061131, 1970.
Budd, G. M.: Changes in Heard Island glaciers, king penguins and fur seals since 1947, Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, 133, 47–60, https://doi.org/10.26749/rstpp.133.2.47, 2000.
Budd, G. M. and Stephenson, P. J.: Recent glacier retreat on Heard Island, in: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Antarctic Glaciological Exploration, edited by: Gow, A. J. and others, Hanover NH, 1968, 449–458, IAHS Publication 86, 1970.
Burgess, D. O. and Sharp, M. J.: Recent Changes in Areal Extent of the Devon Ice Cap, Nunavut, Canada, Arct. Antarct. Alp. Res., 36, 261–271, https://doi.org/10.1657/1523-0430(2004)036[0261:RCIAEO]2.0.CO;2, 2004.
Cogley, J. G., Berthier, E., and Donoghue, S.: Remote Sensing of Glaciers of the Subantarctic Islands, in: Global Land Ice Measurements from Space, edited by: Kargel, J., Leonard, G., Bishop, M., Kääb, A., and Raup, B., Springer Praxis Books, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79818-7_32, 2014.
Davies, B., Golledge, N., Glasser, N., Carrivick, J. L., Ligtenberg, S. R. M., Barrand, N. E., van den Broeke, M. R., Hambrey, M. J., and Smellie, J. L.: Modelled glacier response to centennial temperature and precipitation trends on the Antarctic Peninsula, Nat. Clim. Change, 4, 993–998, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2369, 2014.
DeBeer, C. M. and Sharp, M. J.: Recent changes in glacier area and volume within the southern Canadian Cordillera, Ann. Glaciol., 46, 215–221, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756407782871710, 2007.
Dehecq, A., Gourmelen, N., Gardner, A. S., Brun, F., Goldberg, D., Nienow, P. W., Berthier, E., Vincent, C., Wagnon, P., and Trouvé, E.: Twenty-first century glacier slowdown driven by mass loss in High Mountain Asia, Nat. Geosci., 12, 22–27, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0271-9, 2019.
Deline, P., Linge, H., Ravanel, L., Tuestad, T., Lafite, R., Arnaud, F., and Bakke, J.: Mapping of morainic complexes and reconstruction of glacier dynamics north-east of Cook Ice Cap, Kerguelen Archipelago (49° S), Antarct. Sci., 36, 75–100, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102023000378, 2024.
Division of National Mapping: Topographic map of Heard Island. Scale 1:50 000. MAP G9182.H4. Produced by the Division of National Mapping, Dept. of National Development, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2545184819 (last access: January 2025), 1964.
Dussaillant, I., Hugonnet, R., Huss, M., Berthier, E., Bannwart, J., Paul, F., and Zemp, M.: Annual mass change of the world's glaciers from 1976 to 2024 by temporal downscaling of satellite data with in situ observations, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 1977–2006, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1977-2025, 2025.
Eis, J., van der Laan, L., Maussion, F., and Marzeion, B.: Reconstruction of Past Glacier Changes with an Ice-Flow Glacier Model: Proof of Concept and Validation, Front. Earth Sci., 9, 595755, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.595755, 2021.
Farinotti, D., Huss, M., Fürst, J. J. Landmann, J., Machguth, H., Maussion, F., and Pandit, A.: A consensus estimate for the ice thickness distribution of all glaciers on Earth, Nat. Geosci., 12, 168–173, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0300-3, 2019.
Favier, V., Verfaillie, D., Berthier, E., Menegoz, M., Jomelli, V., Kay, J. E., Ducret, L., Malbéteau, Y., Brunstein, D., Gallée, H., Park, Y. H., and Rinterknecht, V.: Atmospheric drying as the main driver of dramatic glacier wastage in the southern Indian Ocean, Sci. Rep.-UK, 6, 32396, https://doi.org/10.1038/srep32396, 2016.
Fox, J. M., McPhie, J., Carey, R. J., Jourdan, F., and Miggins, D. P.: Construction of an intraplate island volcano: The volcanic history of Heard Island, B. Volcanol., 83, 37, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-021-01452-5, 2021.
Freudiger, D., Mennekes, D., Seibert, J., and Weiler, M.: Historical glacier outlines from digitized topographic maps of the Swiss Alps, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 805–814, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-805-2018, 2018.
GlaMBIE Team: Community estimate of global glacier mass changes from 2000 to 2023, Nature, 639, 382–388, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08545-z, 2025.
GLIMS Consortium: GLIMS Glacier Database, NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center [data set], https://doi.org/10.7265/N5V98602, 2005.
Gordon, J. E., Haynes, V. M., and Hubbard, A.: Recent glacier changes and climate trends on South Georgia, Global Planet. Change, 60, 72–84, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2006.07.037, 2008.
Granshaw, F. D. and Fountain, A. G.: Glacier change (1958–1998) in the North Cascades National Park Complex, Washington, USA, J. Glaciol., 52, 251–256, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756506781828782, 2006.
Haeberli, W. and Hoelzle, M.: Application of inventory data for estimating characteristics of and regional climate-change effects on mountain glaciers: a pilot study with the European Alps, Ann. Glaciol., 21, 206–212, https://doi.org/10.3189/S0260305500015834, 1995.
Hall, D. K., Bayr, K. J., Schöner, W., Bindschadler, R. A., and Chien, J. Y. L.: Consideration of the errors inherent in mapping historical glacier positions in Austria from the ground and space (1893–2001), Remote. Sens. Environ., 86, 566–577, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-4257(03)00134-2, 2003.
HIMI (Heard Island and McDonald Islands) Management Plan: Marine Reserve Management Plan 2014–2024, Dep. of the Env. Canberra, 22, http://heardisland.antarctica.gov.au/ (last access: January 2025), 2014.
HIMI (Heard Island and McDonald Islands) official website: https://www.antarctica.gov.au/antarctic-operations/stations/other-locations/heard-island/climate-and-weather/, last access: August 2024.
Hock, R., Rasul, G., Adler, C., Cáceres, B., Gruber, S., Hirabayashi, Y., Jackson, M., Kääb, A., Kang, S., Kutuzov, S., Milner, A., Molau, U., Morin, S., Orlove, B., and Steltzer, H.: High Mountain Areas, in: IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, edited by: Pörtner, H. O., Roberts, D. C., Masson-Delmotte, V., Zhai, P., Tignor, M., Poloczanska, E., Mintenbeck, K., Alegría, A., Nicolai, M., Okem, A., Petzold, J., Rama, B., and Weyer, N. M., Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 131–198, https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/chapter/chapter-2/ (last access: June 2025), 2019.
Hugonnet, R., McNabb, R., Berthier, E., Menounos, B., Nuth, C., Girod, L., Farinotti, D., Huss, M., Dussaillant, I., Brun, F., and Kääb, A.: Accelerated global glacier mass loss in the early twenty-first century, Nature, 592, 726–731, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03436-z, 2021.
Huss, M. and Hock, R.: Global-scale hydrological response to future glacier mass loss, Nat. Clim. Change, 8, 135–140, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-017-0049-x, 2018.
Kargel, J. S., Leonard, G. J., Bishop, M. P., Kääb, A., and Raup, B. (Eds.): Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (Springer-Praxis), Springer Berlin, Heidelberg, 876 pp., https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79818-7, 2014.
Kiernan, K. and McConnell, A.: Glacier retreat and melt-lake expansion at Stephenson Glacier, Heard Island World Heritage Area, Polar Rec., 38, 297–308, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0032247400017988, 2002.
Kirkbride, M. P. and Dugmore, A. J.: Glaciological response to distaltephra fallout from the 1947 eruption of Hekla, south Iceland, J. Glaciol., 49, 420–428, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756503781830575, 2003.
Korneva, I. A., Toropov, P. A., Muraviev, A. Y., and Aleshina, M. A.: Climatic factors affecting Kamchatka glacier recession, Int. J. Climatol., 44, 345–369, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.8328, 2024.
Lambeth, A. J.: Heard Island. Geography and glaciology, Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 84, 92–98, https://doi.org/10.5962/p.360589, 1951.
Lea, J. M., Mair, D. W. F., and Rea, B. R.: Evaluation of existing and new methods of tracking glacier terminus change, J. Glaciol., 60, 323–332, https://doi.org/10.3189/2014JoG13J061, 2014.
Li, Z., England, M. H., and Groeskamp, S.: Recent acceleration in global ocean heat accumulation by mode and intermediate waters, Nat. Commun., 14, 6888, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42468-z, 2023.
Mackintosh, A., Anderson, B., Lorrey, A., Renwick, J. A., Frei, P., and Dean, S. M.: Regional cooling caused recent New Zealand glacier advances in a period of global warming, Nat. Commun., 8, 14202, https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14202, 2017.
Maussion, F., Hock, R., Paul, F., Raup, B., Rastner, P., Zemp, M., Andreassen, L., Barr, I., Bolch, T., Kochtitzky, W., McNabb, R., and Tielidze, L.: The Randolph Glacier Inventory version 7.0 User guide v1.0, Zenodo, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8362857, 2023.
Mawson, D.: The B. A. N. Z. Antarctic Research Expedition 1929–31, Geogr. J., 80, 105–106, 1932.
Mawson, D.: Some Historical Features of the Discovery of Enderby Land and Kemp Land, Geogr. J. 86, 526–530, https://doi.org/10.2307/1786261, 1935.
Millan, R., Mouginot, J., Rabatel, A., and Morlighem, M.: Ice velocity and thickness of the world's glaciers, Nat. Geosci., 15, 124–129, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00885-z, 2022.
Mölg, N., Bolch, T., Walter, A., and Vieli, A.: Unravelling the evolution of Zmuttgletscher and its debris cover since the end of the Little Ice Age, The Cryosphere, 13, 1889–1909, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1889-2019, 2019.
Mortensen, J., Bendtsen, J., Motyka, R. J., Lennert, K., Truffer, M., Fahnestock, M., and Rysgaard, S.: On the seasonal freshwater stratification in the proximity of fast-flowing tidewater outlet glaciers in a sub-Arctic sill fjord, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 118, 1382–1395, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrc.20134, 2013.
Nagai, H., Fujita, K., Sakai, A., Nuimura, T., and Tadono, T.: Comparison of multiple glacier inventories with a new inventory derived from high-resolution ALOS imagery in the Bhutan Himalaya, The Cryosphere, 10, 65–85, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-65-2016, 2016.
Nel, W., Hedding, D. W., and Rudolph, E. M.: The sub-Antarctic islands are increasingly warming in the 21st century, Antarct. Sci., 35, 124–126, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102023000056, 2023.
Nield, J. M., Chiverrell, R. C., Darby, S. E., Leyland, J., Vircavs, L. H., and Jacobs, B.: Complex spatial feedbacks of tephra redistribution, ice melt and surface roughness modulate ablation on tephra covered glaciers, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 38, 95–102, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3352, 2013.
Paul, F., Barrand, N. E., Baumann, S., Berthier, E., Bolch, T., Casey, K., Frey, H., Joshi, S. P., Konovalov, V., Le Bris, R., Molg, N., Nosenko, G., Nuth, C., Pope, A., Racoviteanu, A., Rastner, P., Raup, B., Scharrer, K., Steffen, S., and Winsvold, S.: On the accuracy of glacier outlines derived from remote-sensing data, Ann. Glaciol., 54, 171–182, https://doi.org/10.3189/2013AoG63A296, 2013.
Perren, B. B., Hodgson, D. A., Roberts, S. J., Sime, L., Van Nieuwenhuyze, W., Verleyen, E., and Vyverman, W.: Southward migration of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds corresponds with warming climate over centennial timescales, Communications Earth and Environment, 1, 58, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-020-00059-6, 2020.
Pfeffer, W. T., Arendt, A. A., Bliss, A., Bolch, T., Cogley, J. G., Gardner, A. S., Hagen, J., Hock, R., Kaser, G., Kienholz, C., Miles, E. S., Moholdt, G., Mölg, N., Paul, F., Radic, V., Rastner, P., Raup, B. H., Rich, J., Sharp, M. J., and The Randolph Consortium: The Randolph Glacier Inventory: a globally complete inventory of glaciers, J. Glaciol., 60, 537–552, https://doi.org/10.3189/2014JoG13J176, 2014.
Pockley, P.: Climate change transforms island ecosystem, Nature, 410, 616, https://doi.org/10.1038/35070741, 2001.
Pohl, B., Saucède, T., Favier, V., Pergaud, J., Verfaillie, D., Féral, J., Krasniqi, Y., and Richard, Y.: Recent climate variability around the Kerguelen Islands (Southern Ocean) seen through weather regimes, J. Appl. Meteorol. Clim., 60, 711–731, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-20-0255.1, 2021.
Purdie, H., Anderson, B., Chinn, T., Owens, I., Mackintosh, A., and Lawson, W.: Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, New Zealand: historic length records, Global Planet. Change, 121, 41–52, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2014.06.008, 2014.
Purdie, H., Bealing, P., Gomez, C., Anderson, B., and Marsh, O. J.: Morphological changes to the terminus of a maritime glacier during advance and retreat phases: Fox Glacier/Te Moeka o Tuawe, New Zealand, Geogr. Ann. A, 103, 167–185, https://doi.org/10.1080/04353676.2020.1840179, 2020.
Radić, V., Bliss, A., Beedlow, A. C., Hock, R., Miles, E., and Cogley, J. G.: Regional and global projections of twenty-first century glacier mass changes in response to climate scenarios from global climate models, Clim. Dynam., 42, 37–58, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-013-1719-7, 2014.
Raup, B. H., Khalsa, S. J. S., Armstrong, R. L., Sneed, W. A., Hamilton, G. S., Paul, F., Cawkwell, F., Beedle, M. J., Menounos, B. P., Wheate, R. D., Rott, H., Shiyin, L., Xin, L., Donghui, S., Guodong, C., Kargel, J. S., Larsen, C. F., Molnia, B. F., Kincaid, J. L., Klein, A., and Konovalov, V.: Quality in the GLIMS glacier database, in: Global Land Ice Measurements from Space, edited by: Kargel, J. S., Leonard, G. J., Bishop, M. P., Kääb, A., and Raup, B. H., Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 163–182, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79818-7_7, 2014.
Richardson, J. M. and Brook, M. S.: Ablation of debris-covered ice: someeffects of the 25 September 2007 Mt Ruapehu eruption, J. Roy. Soc. New Zeal., 40, 45–55, https://doi.org/10.1080/03036758.2010.494714, 2010.
Rivera, A., Bown, F., Carrion, D., and Zenteno, P.: Glacier responses torecent volcanic activity in southern Chile, Environ. Res. Lett., 7, 014036, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/7/1/014036, 2012.
Rounce, D. R., Hock, R., Maussion, F., Hugonnet, R., Kochtitzky, W., Huss, M., Berthier, E., Brinkerhoff, D., Compagno, L., Copland, L., and Farinotti, D.: Global glacier change in the 21st century: Every increase in temperature matters, Science, 379, 78–83, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo1324, 2023.
Scherler, D., Wulf, H., and Gorelick, N.: Global assessment of supraglacial debris-cover extents, Geophys. Res. Lett., 45 11798–11805, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080158, 2018.
Shean, D. E., Bhushan, S., Montesano, P., Rounce, D. R., Arendt, A., and Osmanoglu, B.: A Systematic, Regional Assessment of High Mountain Asia Glacier Mass Balance, Front. Earth Sci, 7, 363, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2019.00363, 2020.
Soci, C., Hersbach, H., Simmons, A., Poli, P., Bell, B., Berrisford, P., Horányi, A., Muñoz-Sabater, J., Nicolas, J., Radu, R., Schepers, D., Villaume, S., Haimberger, L., Woollen, J., Buontempo, C., and Thépaut, J.-N.: The ERA5 global reanalysis from 1940 to 2022, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 150, 4014–4048, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4803, 2024.
Son, S. W., Polvani, L. M., Waugh, D. W., Akiyoshi, H., Garcia, R., Kinnison, D., Pawson, S., Rozanov, E., Shepherd, T. G., and Shibata, K.: The impact of stratospheric ozone recovery on the Southern Hemisphere westerly jet, Science, 320, 1486–1489, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1155939, 2008.
Stokes, C. R., Shahgedanova, M., Evans, I., and Popovnin, V. V.: Accelerated loss of alpine glaciers in the Kodar Mountains, south-eastern Siberia, Global Planet. Change, 101, 82–96, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2012.12.010, 2013.
Straneo, F. and Cenedese, C.: The dynamics of Greenland's glacial fjords and their role in climate, Annu. Rev. Mar. Sci., 7, 89–112, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-marine-010213-135133, 2015.
Tachikawa, T., Hato, M., Kaku, M., and Iwasaki, A.: Characteristics of ASTER GDEM version 2, in: IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 24–29 July 2011, 3657–3660, https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS.2011.6050017, 2011.
Thost, D. E. and Truffer, M.: Glacier Recession on Heard Island, Southern Indian Ocean, Arct. Antarct. Alp. Res., 40, 199–214, https://doi.org/10.1657/1523-0430(06-084)[THOST]2.0.CO;2, 2008.
Tielidze, L. G.: Glacier change over the last century, Caucasus Mountains, Georgia, observed from old topographical maps, Landsat and ASTER satellite imagery, The Cryosphere, 10, 713–725, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-713-2016, 2016.
Tielidze, L. G. and Wheate, R. D.: The Greater Caucasus Glacier Inventory (Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan), The Cryosphere, 12, 81–94, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-81-2018, 2018.
Tielidze, L. G., Bolch, T., Wheate, R. D., Kutuzov, S. S., Lavrentiev, I. I., and Zemp, M.: Supra-glacial debris cover changes in the Greater Caucasus from 1986 to 2014, The Cryosphere, 14, 585–598, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-585-2020, 2020.
Tielidze, L. G., Nosenko, G. A., Khromova, T. E., and Paul, F.: Strong acceleration of glacier area loss in the Greater Caucasus between 2000 and 2020, The Cryosphere, 16, 489–504, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-489-2022, 2022.
Truffer, M. and Motyka, R. J.: Where glaciers meet water: Subaqueous melt and its relevance to glaciers in various settings, Rev. Geophys., 54, 220–239, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015RG000494, 2016.
Von Drygalski, E.: Geogr. von Heard Eiland?, Deutsche Südpolar Exped., 1901–1903, Bd. 11, Heft 3, Geog. u. Geol. 223–239, 1908.
Weber, P., Andreassen, L. M., Boston, C. M., Lovell, H., and Kvarteig, S.: An ∼1899 glacier inventory for Nordland, northern Norway, produced from historical maps, J. Glaciol., 66, 259–277, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.3, 2020.
Williamson, R. A.: The Landsat legacy: Remote sensing policy and the development of commercial remote sensing, Photogramm. Eng. Rem. S., 63, 877–885, 1997.
Zemp, M., Huss, M., Thibert, E., Eckert, N., McNabb, R., Huber, J., Barandun, M., Machguth, H., Nussbaumer, S. U., Gärtner-Roer, I., Thomson, L., Paul, F., Maussion, F., Kutuzov, S., and Cogley, J. G.: Global glacier mass changes and their contributions to sea-level rise from 1961 to 2016, Nature, 568, 382–386, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1071-0, 2019.
Short summary
Heard Island is a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its outstanding physical and biological features which are being affected by significant ongoing climatic changes. As one of the only sub-Antarctic islands mostly free of introduced species, its largely undisturbed ecosystems are at risk from the impact of glacier retreat. This glacier inventory will help in designing effective conservation strategies and managing protected areas to ensure the preservation of the biodiversity they support.
Heard Island is a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its outstanding physical and biological...
