Cryosphere

The cryosphere refers to the components of the Earth system where water exists in solid form, including glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice, snow cover, permafrost and frozen ground. It spans polar regions, high mountains and seasonally cold areas. The cryosphere influences climate by reflecting solar radiation, regulating energy exchange and storing freshwater, and it plays a central role in sea level change and global hydrological processes.

Image: white and brown concrete building near snow covered mountain during daytime
Mountains face faster climate change, with risks for billionsClimate

Mountains face faster climate change, with risks for billions

A major global review has revealed how climate change has impacted mountain regions over the last 40 years Summary: Climate change in mountain regions is…
SourceSourceNovember 26, 2025 Full article
Image: Antarctica coast
As ice thins, Antarctic mountains reveal a hidden iron supply to the oceanClimate

As ice thins, Antarctic mountains reveal a hidden iron supply to the ocean

Research led by polar scientists from Northumbria University has revealed new hope in natural environmental systems found in East Antarctica which could help mitigate the…
SourceSourceNovember 24, 2025 Full article
Satellite Image: Sikuijivitteq, Eastern Greenland
Image of the day: Winter shadows along eastern GreenlandNews

Image of the day: Winter shadows along eastern Greenland

Eastern Greenland enters a period of rapid seasonal transition each November, as the approach of winter brings weaker sunlight and falling temperatures across the high…
Muser NewsDeskMuser NewsDeskNovember 23, 2025 Full article
Image: AI art of Earth - climate change effects (s. science, climate, Muser)
Climate Science Digest: November 9, 2025Science

Climate Science Digest: November 9, 2025

Explore the latest insights from top science journals in the Muser Press roundup (November 9, 2025), featuring impactful research on climate change challenges. In brief:…
Muser NewsDeskMuser NewsDeskNovember 9, 2025 Full article
Image: AI art of Earth - climate change effects (s. science, climate, Muser)
Climate Science Digest: November 7, 2025Science

Climate Science Digest: November 7, 2025

Explore the latest insights from top science journals in the Muser Press roundup (November 7, 2025), featuring impactful research on climate change challenges. In brief:…
Muser NewsDeskMuser NewsDeskNovember 7, 2025 Full article
Image: Copernicus Sentinel-1D, French Guiana
Image of the day: Copernicus Sentinel-1D joins Europe’s radar fleetNews

Image of the day: Copernicus Sentinel-1D joins Europe’s radar fleet

Copernicus Sentinel-1D was launched into orbit on 4 November 2025 at 22:02 CET (21:02 UTC) aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from the European Spaceport in…
Muser NewsDeskMuser NewsDeskNovember 5, 2025 Full article
Image: Hektoria Glacier rubble
Antarctic glacier retreats 8 km in two months, fastest in modern historyClimate

Antarctic glacier retreats 8 km in two months, fastest in modern history

Researchers trace Hektoria Glacier’s rapid collapse to its unstable ice plain, revealing how bedrock shape can trigger sudden Antarctic ice loss Summary: Hektoria Glacier on…
SourceSourceNovember 5, 2025 Full article
Image: AI art of Earth - climate change effects (s. science, climate, Muser)
Climate Science Digest: October 26, 2025Science

Climate Science Digest: October 26, 2025

Explore the latest insights from top science journals in the Muser Press daily roundup (October 26, 2025), featuring impactful research on climate change challenges. In…
Muser NewsDeskMuser NewsDeskOctober 26, 2025 Full article
Image: Tsanteleina Glacier, Italy
Glaciers’ self-cooling power nearing its peak, ISTA study warnsClimate

Glaciers’ self-cooling power nearing its peak, ISTA study warns

ISTA study confirms: Glaciers are fighting a losing battle against climate change Summary: Glaciers may soon lose their ability to cool the air around them,…
SourceSourceOctober 13, 2025 Full article
Image: Scientists camped out high on a glacier in Tajikistan to take the ice core samples
Scientists probe Tajik glacier for clues to climate resistanceClimate

Scientists probe Tajik glacier for clues to climate resistance

Tajikistan | AFP | Muser NewsDesk Greenland is melting, the Alps are melting and the Himalayas are melting -- yet in one vast mountain region,…
SourceSourceOctober 13, 2025 Full article
Satellite Image: The Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica
Image of the day: Thwaites Glacier retreat in AntarcticaNews

Image of the day: Thwaites Glacier retreat in Antarctica

Covering about 120 kilometres in width, the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica plays a critical role in regulating global sea levels. It drains a large…
Muser NewsDeskMuser NewsDeskOctober 6, 2025 Full article
Image: AI art of Earth - climate change effects (s. science, climate, Muser)
Climate Science Digest: September 24, 2025Science

Climate Science Digest: September 24, 2025

Explore the latest insights from top science journals in the Muser Press daily roundup (September 24, 2025), featuring impactful research on climate change challenges. In…
Muser NewsDeskMuser NewsDeskSeptember 24, 2025 Full article
Image: Thwaites to Dotson
Northerly winds found to drive West Antarctic ice lossClimate

Northerly winds found to drive West Antarctic ice loss

Rapid ice loss from West Antarctica has long been blamed on strengthening westerly winds pushing warm ocean water toward its ice shelves, but new research…
SourceSourceSeptember 11, 2025 Full article
Image: AI art of Earth - climate change effects (s. science, climate, Muser)
Climate Science Digest: September 10, 2025Science

Climate Science Digest: September 10, 2025

Explore the latest insights from top science journals in the Muser Press daily roundup (September 10, 2025), featuring impactful research on climate change challenges. In…
Muser NewsDeskMuser NewsDeskSeptember 10, 2025 Full article
Image: Sunset above Machapuchare Mardi Himal track in the Himalaya mountains
Monsoon shifts intensify glacier melt across High Mountain AsiaClimate

Monsoon shifts intensify glacier melt across High Mountain Asia

Shifting precipitation patterns, driven by climate change, could reshape water security and environmental hazards for one of world’s most populated regions, research shows Summary: Glaciers…
SourceSourceSeptember 1, 2025 Full article
Image: Iceberg calving
Falling ice accelerates Greenland glacier retreatClimate

Falling ice accelerates Greenland glacier retreat

The Greenland ice sheet is melting at an increasing rate, a process accelerated by glacier calving, in which huge chunks of ice break free and…
SourceSourceAugust 14, 2025 Full article
Image: Greenland Ice Sheet
Greenland’s ice sheet split open by massive hidden floodScience

Greenland’s ice sheet split open by massive hidden flood

A huge flood triggered by the rapid draining of a lake beneath the Greenland ice sheet occurred with such force that it fractured the ice…
SourceSourceAugust 9, 2025 Full article
Image: cliff edge after calving (s. ocean tides)
Tides linked to timing of massive Antarctic iceberg break-offsScience

Tides linked to timing of massive Antarctic iceberg break-offs

A new study has revealed that ocean tides can directly influence when large Antarctic icebergs break off from the ice shelves surrounding the continent, a…
SourceSourceJuly 24, 2025 Full article
Satellite Image: David Glacier, Drygalski Ice Tongue, Antarctica
Image of the day: Antarctica’s ice tongue carves into the Ross SeaNews

Image of the day: Antarctica’s ice tongue carves into the Ross Sea

In this Sentinel-2 image from 17 March 2025, Antarctica’s David Glacier is seen feeding the Drygalski Ice Tongue – a long, blade-like structure slicing nearly…
Muser NewsDeskMuser NewsDeskJuly 22, 2025 Full article
Image: snapshot, Svalbard
Arctic winter thaws as rain replaces snow in SvalbardScience

Arctic winter thaws as rain replaces snow in Svalbard

New commentary reveals a dramatic and concerning shift in the Arctic winter Summary: What was once considered an unshakably frozen season in the Arctic is…
SourceSourceJuly 21, 2025 Full article
Image: Airview, Greenland (s. glaciers melting)
Melting glaciers turn carbon-storing land into greenhouse gas sourcesClimate

Melting glaciers turn carbon-storing land into greenhouse gas sources

A new study conducted by geologists from the University of Florida and the University of Maryland reveals that, as land is exposed by melting glaciers,…
SourceSourceJuly 10, 2025 Full article
Image: Launch of MBARI's MiniROV during an international expedition to study the Arctic seafloor
MBARI research and technology play integral role in new Decade of Action for Cryospheric SciencesNews

MBARI research and technology play integral role in new Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences

International collaborations leverage MBARI’s expertise and advanced technology to better understand polar ecosystems This year marks the opening of the United Nations Decade of Action…
SourceSourceJune 9, 2025 Full article
The summit of Huayna Potosí, a mountain near La Paz, Bolivia. Here we find the Zongo glacier, one of several in the tropical Andes Mountains, that are now smaller than at any point since the end of the last ice age 11,700 years ago, according to new research from UW–Madison researchers and their collaborators.
Stronger climate policy could save half the world’s glaciersClimate

Stronger climate policy could save half the world’s glaciers

A study published in Science finds that twice as much of the world’s glacier mass could be preserved by meeting the 1.5°C threshold set by…
SourceSourceMay 31, 2025 Full article
Image: Block of ice falling down into the sea (s. sea level rise, climate change)
Dire sea level rise likely even in a 1.5°C world: studyClimate

Dire sea level rise likely even in a 1.5°C world: study

Paris, France | AFP Rising seas will severely test humanity's resilience in the second half of the 21st century and beyond, even if nations defy…
SourceSourceMay 20, 2025 Full article