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 team of scientists has uncovered evidence glaciers in the Southern and Northern hemispheres were synchronous during the last ice age.
Earth Sciences
Jan 13, 2026
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For decades, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has offered a snapshot of the planet's changing climate—but University of Toronto researchers have found that some of the underlying data underrepresents ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 12, 2026
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The Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers, located in the Amundsen Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), are among the fastest-melting glaciers on Earth. Together, they are losing ice more rapidly than any other ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 10, 2026
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Oxygen isotopes data enable researchers to look far back into the geologic past and reconstruct the climate of the past. In doing so, they consider several factors such as ocean temperature and ice volume in polar regions. ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 7, 2026
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The first study from GreenDrill—a project co-led by the University at Buffalo to collect rocks and sediment buried beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet—has found that the Prudhoe Dome ice cap was completely gone approximately ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 5, 2026
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"We cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice." That's the message from more than 50 leading scientists who study Earth's frozen regions, published in the latest annual State of the Cryosphere report.
Environment
Dec 18, 2025
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39
Dressed in an orange puffer jacket, Japanese scientist Yoshinori Iizuka stepped into a storage freezer to retrieve an ice core he hopes will help experts protect the world's disappearing glaciers.
Environment
Dec 17, 2025
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27
The speed at which glaciers move changes predictably each year, according to the first-ever global map of how glacier and ice sheet speeds vary with the seasons. Knowing this yearly rhythm could help us better predict sea-level ...
A recent study published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters is the first to directly link earthquakes to climate change-induced glacial melt. Scientists analyzed 15 years of seismic activity in the Grandes Jorasses—a ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 2, 2025
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An international research team has shown that avalanches are crucial to the survival of many glaciers worldwide. The study aims to contribute to better predictions of water resources and natural hazards in the context of ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 26, 2025
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