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.
Research led by a University of Bristol Ph.D. student has revealed a host of thriving microscopic algae communities in snow and glaciers across one of the most remote locations on Earth. The study, which appears in ISME Communications ...
Environment
May 11, 2026
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Global sea levels may rise faster than previously expected, suggests a new study in Nature Communications. The reason is that warming oceans appear to be melting Antarctic ice shelves from below much more rapidly than expected.
Earth Sciences
May 7, 2026
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Understanding how to explore hidden glaciers on Mars begins not in a laboratory, but in remote field camps across Alaska and Wyoming.
Planetary Sciences
Apr 29, 2026
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Glaciers can reveal vast archives of information about Earth's environmental past, but deciphering the origins of the matter within them can be a challenge. Now, using a novel technique that enables researchers to directly ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 16, 2026
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Sea ice is not just solid frozen water. It's riddled with tiny pockets and channels of liquid brine. Whether those pockets connect to form pathways determines whether seawater, nutrients and gases can move through the ice, ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 15, 2026
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Models of glacial flow and retreat rely on estimates of glacial ice viscosity, the measure of the ice's resistance to flow. Ice viscosity is dependent on the stress applied to the glacier. Most ice sheet models use a standard ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 14, 2026
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Glaciers in High Mountain Asia—a region encompassing the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding mountain ranges—are shrinking rapidly, endangering water resources for millions of people, suggests a new study. Using satellite ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 8, 2026
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Researchers have created the first map of a network of subglacial lakes in the Canadian Arctic showing 33 bodies of water under glaciers. Using a decade of ArcticDEM satellite data of Earth's surface height, a team of researchers ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 2, 2026
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Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), which include GPS, are traditionally used for positioning, timing, and mapping information. In an open-access study published Feb. 27 in Geophysical Research Letters, MIT Haystack ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 24, 2026
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Alaska's glaciers respond to climate change by melting for three additional weeks with every 1 degree Celsius increase in the average summer temperature, data from satellite-mounted radars show.
Earth Sciences
Mar 21, 2026
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