Articles | Volume 20, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3817-2026
© Author(s) 2026. 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-20-3817-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Brief communication
| 
09 Jul 2026
Brief communication |
| 09 Jul 2026
| 09 Jul 2026
Brief communication: Inferring Glacier Equilibrium Line Altitudes in the Europe Alps with FROST
Institute of Geography, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
Veena Prasad
Institute of Geography, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
Anna Zöller
Institute of Geography, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
Alexander R. Groos
Institute of Geography, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
Samuel Cook
Institute of Geography, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
Christian Sommer
Institute of Geography, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
Johannes J. Fürst
Institute of Geography, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
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Christian Sommer, Thorsten Seehaus, Andrey Glazovsky, and Matthias H. Braun
The Cryosphere, 16, 35–42, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-35-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-35-2022, 2022
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Arctic glaciers have been subject to extensive warming due to global climate change, yet their contribution to sea level rise has been relatively small in the past. In this study we provide mass changes of most glaciers of the Russian High Arctic (Franz Josef Land, Severnaya Zemlya, Novaya Zemlya). We use TanDEM-X satellite measurements to derive glacier surface elevation changes. Our results show an increase in glacier mass loss and a sea level rise contribution of 0.06 mm/a (2010–2017).
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The Cryosphere, 15, 5675–5704, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5675-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5675-2021, 2021
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Along the edges of the Greenland Ice Sheet surface melt lubricates the bed and causes large seasonal fluctuations in ice speeds during summer. Accurately understanding how these ice speed changes occur is difficult due to the inaccessibility of the glacier bed. We show that by using surface velocity maps with high temporal resolution and numerical modelling we can infer the basal conditions that control seasonal fluctuations in ice speed and gain insight into seasonal dynamics over large areas.
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Short summary
Glaciers in the European Alps are shrinking rapidly because of climate change. We developed a new open-source method that combines satellite observations with computer models to estimate where glaciers gain and lose ice. Applied to hundreds of glaciers, the results agree well with field measurements. This approach improves our understanding of glacier change and helps make more reliable predictions of their future.
Glaciers in the European Alps are shrinking rapidly because of climate change. We developed a...
