Snow and Ice

At a conference the international ice core science community discusses the latest developments in their field.

According to two recent studies carried out as part of the Vanishing Glaciers Project, the ecosystems of glacier-fed streams are undergoing profound change around the world. That could have major repercussions on the food chain and the natural carbon cycle.

Glacier ice holds valuable information about our planet’s past. But as the glaciers melt in the course of climate change, this archive is disappearing. An international research team with PSI participation is rushing to preserve this scientific treasure for posterity.

On 21 March, the PASTURE project, which will explore glacier retreat in the Andes, was launched simultaneously online and live at the Alpine Museum of Switzerland in Bern. The joint project between WSL and the National Institute for Glacier and Mountain Ecosystem Research in Peru aims to assess the impact of climate change on water resources and mountain ecosystems and to facilitate countermeasures.

While glaciers are shrinking worldwide, those in the Pamir Mountains in Central Asia show less change. They and the other components of the cryosphere (snow and permafrost) are key unknowns for future changes to runoff and hazards. Over the next four years, a research consortium led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL and the University of Fribourg will comprehensively study this unique environment. The Swiss Polar Institute (SPI) has awarded CHF 1.5 million to this SPI Flagship Initiative.

A team of scientists has developed a new model for simulating both iceberg calving and the tsunamis that are triggered as a result. Their method can help improve hazard assessment in coastal areas and refine the empirical calving models used to evaluate rising sea levels.