Articles | Volume 20, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3827-2026
© 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-20-3827-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
13 Jul 2026
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 13 Jul 2026
| 13 Jul 2026
Contrasting dynamics of lake- and marine-terminating glaciers under same climatic conditions
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Faezeh M. Nick
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Douglas Benn
School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
Maarten P. A. Zwarts
Earth Simulation Laboratory, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Walter Immerzeel
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Roderik S. W. van de Wal
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric research Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, The Netherlands
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Tesse E. A. van den Aker, Peter Kuipers Munneke, Willem Jan van de Berg, Walter W. Immerzeel, and Michiel R. van den Broeke
The Cryosphere, 20, 5475–5490, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5475-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5475-2026, 2026
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The firn layer, i.e. permanent snow, regulates how an ice sheet responds to climate change. Firn models are forced with with climate data at time steps from sub-daily to annual in literature, however, implications are barely evaluated. We test the impact of different climate forcing time steps on the modeled firn layer. We conclude that the climate forcing time step (1) affects firn model output, (2) can lead to non-physical behaviour, and (3) that resolving at least a diurnal cycle is required.
Tom Matthews, Baker Perry, Ben Graves, Fanny Brun, Maria Sanolaria-Otin, Navaraj Pokhrel, Arbindra Khadka, Dibas Shrestha, Ludving Cano, Aris Kwadijk, Walter Immereel, Brandt Maxwell, and Anton Seimon
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-5200, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-5200, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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Extreme precipitation shapes hazards and water resources in high mountains, but is rarely observed directly. On 4 October 2025, weather stations on Mt. Everest recorded one of the most extreme snowfall events ever measured. The storm revealed that Himalayan snowfall extremes can be far larger than previously documented, and that intense snowfall can cool the atmosphere sufficiently to prevent rain at impact-sensitive elevations, complicating the picture of how warming will affect future storms.
Aris Kwadijk, Philip D. A. Kraaijenbrink, Faezeh M. Nick, Joseph M. Shea, Jakob F. Steiner, René R. Wijngaard, and Walter W. Immerzeel
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-5005, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-5005, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
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The Himalayas supply water to millions of people downstream, yet high-altitude rainfall remains poorly understood. Using thirteen years of data from weather stations across Nepal's Langtang Valley, we found that during the monsoon the moist atmosphere causes rainfall to be highly sensitive to topography. We show how precipitation-elevation gradients shift during the day. This shift is captured in a numerical relation, that can serve to validate weather models.
Benjamin J. Davison, Andrew J. Sole, Gregoire Guillet, Douglas I. Benn, Jonathan Kingslake, Jeremy C. Ely, Stephen J. Livingstone, Christopher D. Stringer, Jonathan L. Carrivick, and Anna E. Hogg
The Cryosphere, 20, 4293–4311, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-4293-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-4293-2026, 2026
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Some glaciers flow slowly for many years before dramatically accelerating. This is usually a sign of a surge. Theory and observations suggest that surges occur in certain climates. The Antarctic Peninsula has such a climate yet only one surge has been observed there. We present detailed observations of three glaciers that surged recently. We explore how climate change over the past hundred years, and projected climate change up to 2150, has and will affect surging behaviour on the Peninsula.
Samuel James Cook, Iain Wheel, Nick Hulton, Poul Christoffersen, and Doug Benn
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4213, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4213, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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Accurate modelling of calving is a major problem that leads to uncertainties in sea-level rise. By modelling calving as a random process and testing how this interacts with water flow beneath the glacier, we show that including this water flow is essential to be able to fully reproduce real calving in a computer model. This may help guide future ice-sheet models as to how to improve their existing representations of Greenland and Antarctica.
Ilaria Santin, Huw J. Horgan, Raphael Moser, Nanna Bjørnholt Karlsson, Faezeh M. Nick, Andreas Vieli, Anja Rutishauser, Hansruedi Maurer, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 20, 3435–3441, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3435-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3435-2026, 2026
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Ice thickness near Greenland’s coast is still poorly measured, yet it is vital for predicting sea level rise. We flew a helicopter ice-penetrating radar over three outlet glaciers in southern Greenland and mapped the glacier bed where basal reflections were clear. We measured ice up to about 340 meters thick, with reliable penetration typically to about 300 meters, providing new constraints that can improve regional bed maps.
Francesca Pellicciotti, Adrià Fontrodona-Bach, David R. Rounce, Catriona L. Fyffe, Leif S. Anderson, Álvaro Ayala, Ben W. Brock, Pascal Buri, Stefan Fugger, Koji Fujita, Prateek Gantayat, Alexander R. Groos, Walter Immerzeel, Marin Kneib, Christoph Mayer, Shelley MacDonell, Michael McCarthy, James McPhee, Evan Miles, Heather Purdie, Ekaterina Rets, Akiko Sakai, Thomas E. Shaw, Jakob Steiner, Patrick Wagnon, and Alex Winter-Billington
The Cryosphere, 20, 1895–1928, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026, 2026
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Rock debris covers many of the world glaciers, modifying the transfer of atmospheric energy to the debris and into the ice. Models of different complexity simulate this process, and we compare 15 models at 9 sites to show that the most complex models at the debris-atmosphere interface have the highest performance. However, we lack debris properties and their derivation from measurements is ambiguous, hindering global modelling and calling for both model development and data collection.
Oriol Pomarol Moya, Madlene Nussbaum, Siamak Mehrkanoon, Philip D. A. Kraaijenbrink, Isabelle Gouttevin, Derek Karssenberg, and Walter W. Immerzeel
The Cryosphere, 20, 1427–1444, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1427-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1427-2026, 2026
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Two hybrid Machine Learning (ML) approaches predicting daily Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) were evaluated across ten Northern Hemisphere sites. By integrating meteorological data with Crocus snow model simulations, these hybrid models outperformed both standalone Crocus and traditional ML models. Notably, augmenting measured SWE data with Crocus simulations significantly improved performance at unseen locations, offering a promising new approach to long-term SWE prediction.
Floris F. van Rees, Laura L. Govers, Polina Guseva, Maarten P. A. Zwarts, Camille Tuijnman, Cornelis J. Camphuysen, Gerben Ruessink, and Valérie C. Reijers
Biogeosciences, 23, 1527–1544, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1527-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1527-2026, 2026
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Seabird guano enriches nitrogen-loving plants and boost plants to trap sediment, driving the gradual growth and reshaping of coastal islands. By pairing on-site plant surveys with satellite imagery and elevation data, we show these effects vary with elevation, soil type, and season. Birds thus engineer and sustain their own breeding habitats. For conservation managers, protecting colonies is key to preserving the dynamic island landscapes these and other species rely on.
Titouan Biget, Fanny Brun, Walter Immerzeel, Léo Martin, Hamish Pritchard, Emily Collier, Yanbin Lei, and Tandong Yao
The Cryosphere, 19, 5863–5870, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5863-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5863-2025, 2025
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This study explore the precipitation in the southern Tibetan plateau using the water pressure of an high altitude lake and meteorological models and shows that snowfall could be much stronger on the Plateau than what is predicted by the models.
Iain Wheel, Douglas I. Benn, Anna J. Crawford, Joe Todd, and Thomas Zwinger
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 5759–5777, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5759-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5759-2024, 2024
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Calving, the detachment of large icebergs from glaciers, is one of the largest uncertainties in future sea level rise projections. This process is poorly understood, and there is an absence of detailed models capable of simulating calving. A new 3D calving model has been developed to better understand calving at glaciers where detailed modelling was previously limited. Importantly, the new model is very flexible. By allowing for unrestricted calving geometries, it can be applied at any location.
Léo C. P. Martin, Sebastian Westermann, Michele Magni, Fanny Brun, Joel Fiddes, Yanbin Lei, Philip Kraaijenbrink, Tamara Mathys, Moritz Langer, Simon Allen, and Walter W. Immerzeel
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4409–4436, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4409-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4409-2023, 2023
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Across the Tibetan Plateau, many large lakes have been changing level during the last decades as a response to climate change. In high-mountain environments, water fluxes from the land to the lakes are linked to the ground temperature of the land and to the energy fluxes between the ground and the atmosphere, which are modified by climate change. With a numerical model, we test how these water and energy fluxes have changed over the last decades and how they influence the lake level variations.
Adam Emmer, Simon K. Allen, Mark Carey, Holger Frey, Christian Huggel, Oliver Korup, Martin Mergili, Ashim Sattar, Georg Veh, Thomas Y. Chen, Simon J. Cook, Mariana Correas-Gonzalez, Soumik Das, Alejandro Diaz Moreno, Fabian Drenkhan, Melanie Fischer, Walter W. Immerzeel, Eñaut Izagirre, Ramesh Chandra Joshi, Ioannis Kougkoulos, Riamsara Kuyakanon Knapp, Dongfeng Li, Ulfat Majeed, Stephanie Matti, Holly Moulton, Faezeh Nick, Valentine Piroton, Irfan Rashid, Masoom Reza, Anderson Ribeiro de Figueiredo, Christian Riveros, Finu Shrestha, Milan Shrestha, Jakob Steiner, Noah Walker-Crawford, Joanne L. Wood, and Jacob C. Yde
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3041–3061, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3041-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3041-2022, 2022
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Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) have attracted increased research attention recently. In this work, we review GLOF research papers published between 2017 and 2021 and complement the analysis with research community insights gained from the 2021 GLOF conference we organized. The transdisciplinary character of the conference together with broad geographical coverage allowed us to identify progress, trends and challenges in GLOF research and outline future research needs and directions.
Douglas I. Benn, Adrian Luckman, Jan A. Åström, Anna J. Crawford, Stephen L. Cornford, Suzanne L. Bevan, Thomas Zwinger, Rupert Gladstone, Karen Alley, Erin Pettit, and Jeremy Bassis
The Cryosphere, 16, 2545–2564, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2545-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2545-2022, 2022
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Thwaites Glacier (TG), in West Antarctica, is potentially unstable and may contribute significantly to sea-level rise as global warming continues. Using satellite data, we show that Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, the largest remaining floating extension of TG, has started to accelerate as it fragments along a shear zone. Computer modelling does not indicate that fragmentation will lead to imminent glacier collapse, but it is clear that major, rapid, and unpredictable changes are underway.
Stefan Fugger, Catriona L. Fyffe, Simone Fatichi, Evan Miles, Michael McCarthy, Thomas E. Shaw, Baohong Ding, Wei Yang, Patrick Wagnon, Walter Immerzeel, Qiao Liu, and Francesca Pellicciotti
The Cryosphere, 16, 1631–1652, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1631-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1631-2022, 2022
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The monsoon is important for the shrinking and growing of glaciers in the Himalaya during summer. We calculate the melt of seven glaciers in the region using a complex glacier melt model and weather data. We find that monsoonal weather affects glaciers that are covered with a layer of rocky debris and glaciers without such a layer in different ways. It is important to take so-called turbulent fluxes into account. This knowledge is vital for predicting the future of the Himalayan glaciers.
Gregoire Guillet, Owen King, Mingyang Lv, Sajid Ghuffar, Douglas Benn, Duncan Quincey, and Tobias Bolch
The Cryosphere, 16, 603–623, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-603-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-603-2022, 2022
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Surging glaciers show cyclical changes in flow behavior – between slow and fast flow – and can have drastic impacts on settlements in their vicinity.
One of the clusters of surging glaciers worldwide is High Mountain Asia (HMA).
We present an inventory of surging glaciers in HMA, identified from satellite imagery. We show that the number of surging glaciers was underestimated and that they represent 20 % of the area covered by glaciers in HMA, before discussing new physics for glacier surges.
Wouter J. Smolenaars, Sanita Dhaubanjar, Muhammad K. Jamil, Arthur Lutz, Walter Immerzeel, Fulco Ludwig, and Hester Biemans
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 861–883, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-861-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-861-2022, 2022
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The arid plains of the lower Indus Basin rely heavily on the water provided by the mountainous upper Indus. Rapid population growth in the upper Indus is expected to increase the water that is consumed there. This will subsequently reduce the water that is available for the downstream plains, where the population and water demand are also expected to grow. In future, this may aggravate tensions over the division of water between the countries that share the Indus Basin.
Jan Bouke Pronk, Tobias Bolch, Owen King, Bert Wouters, and Douglas I. Benn
The Cryosphere, 15, 5577–5599, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5577-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5577-2021, 2021
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About 10 % of Himalayan glaciers flow directly into lakes. This study finds, using satellite imagery, that such glaciers show higher flow velocities than glaciers without ice–lake contact. In particular near the glacier tongue the impact of a lake on the glacier flow can be dramatic. The development of current and new meltwater bodies will influence the flow of an increasing number of Himalayan glaciers in the future, a scenario not currently considered in regional ice loss projections.
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Editorial statement
This study offers a rare natural experiment by comparing two adjacent glaciers South Greenland with shared upstream conditions but differing terminus environments: one terminating in a lake and the other in the ocean. The clear contrast in their dynamic behaviours, despite similar climate and input conditions, provides valuable insight into the role of terminus type in regulating glacier response. This has broader implications for predicting glacier change and sea-level contributions in a warming climate.
This study offers a rare natural experiment by comparing two adjacent glaciers South Greenland...
Short summary
We studied a unique glacier in South Greenland that ends in both a lake and the ocean. Using satellite data and field work, we found that the two glacier fronts behave very differently even under the same climate. At the lake glacier we identify a floating ice tongue and we infer little melt below water. The lake glacier experienced a sudden large breakup. Our work suggests that lake and marine glacier fronts must be treated differently in model simulations.
We studied a unique glacier in South Greenland that ends in both a lake and the ocean. Using...
