Glaciology is the scientific discipline devoted to the study of snow, ice, and glaciers as physical systems within the cryosphere. It examines the formation, metamorphism, and rheology of ice, the mass balance and dynamics of glaciers and ice sheets, and their interactions with atmosphere, oceans, lithosphere, and climate. Glaciological research employs field observations, remote sensing, geophysical surveying, ice-core analysis, and numerical modeling to quantify processes such as ice flow, basal sliding, calving, and meltwater production. The field is central to understanding sea-level change, paleoclimate reconstruction, freshwater resources, and feedbacks in the global climate system.
An international research team partly led by the University of Ottawa reports that Petermann Glacier in northwest Greenland calved a 76.4 km² (29.5 square miles) ice island on Aug. 4, 2026, marking the glacier's largest loss ...
Environment
Aug 10, 2026
0
422
How much ice is stored in the world's glaciers? And where exactly is it located? A new study led by Ca' Foscari University of Venice, in collaboration with the Institute of Polar Sciences of the National Research Council ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 7, 2026
0
54
East Africa's shrinking mountain glaciers on three peaks in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will soon be no more. The 2025 State of the Climate in Africa report (page 13) estimates that the ice areas on Mount Kenya, the continent's ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 4, 2026
0
14
For most of the year, the Barnes Ice Cap in the Canadian Arctic lies quiet under a blanket of snow. By summer, that snow melts back, and the ice cap transforms in texture, its bare ice dotted with turquoise ponds and its ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 4, 2026
0
14
Salty water flowing through Antarctica's Blood Falls contains a distinct community of marine-specific microorganisms, providing evidence that the brine system beneath the glacier has a marine origin, according to a paper ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 3, 2026
0
199
Local knowledge, improved evacuation preparedness and resilient mobile phone-based communication channels can supplement early warning systems to reduce loss of life during glacial lake outburst floods.
Environment
Aug 3, 2026
0
5
Facing wind and cold, with only half as much oxygen to breathe as in the valley, a German-Turkish research team surveyed the glacier on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey for the first time in July, at more than 5,000 meters ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 31, 2026
2
1213
A team of international scientists sets sail Thursday from Britain for Greenland to study its rapidly melting ice using drones, mini-submarines and autonomous swimming robots.
Earth Sciences
Jul 16, 2026
0
14
Mountain snow and meltwater from glaciers in the Himalayas determine how much water is available for drinking, farming and hydropower for millions of people in India, Pakistan, Nepal, China and Afghanistan.
Environment
Jul 13, 2026
0
6
A new study published in Quaternary Science Reviews dates the dramatic collapse of one of the largest glaciers ever documented in the Himalayas. The findings overturn a long-held assumption about what sustains wet-climate ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 9, 2026
0
203
