Article
Geography, Physical
J. P. Brooks, L. J. Larocca, Y. L. Axford
Summary: Alpine glaciers in southernmost Greenland provide valuable indicators of past climate. This study reconstructs the extents of 42 land-terminating paleoglaciers and calculates their equilibrium-line altitudes (ELAs) during the Little Ice Age (LIA). It finds that ELAs have risen since the LIA, corresponding to a summer temperature change of 1.1°C, assuming no change in precipitation. The study also reveals the loss of glacier area and length since the LIA, with no clear geographic patterns. The findings emphasize the need for regional-scale glacier reconstruction to understand past climate change.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
William Kochtitzky, Luke Copland
Summary: This study mapped the changes in terminus position of marine-terminating glaciers in the Northern Hemisphere from 2000 to 2020. A total of 1,704 glaciers were analyzed, and it was found that they lost an average of 389.7 km² per year during this period. The outlet glaciers of the Greenland Ice Sheet accounted for the majority of the area loss.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
William Taylor, Isaac Hart, Caleb Pan, Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan, James Murdoch, Gino Caspari, Michael Klinge, Kristen Pearson, Umirbyek Bikhumar, Svetlana Shnaider, Aida Abdykanova, Peter Bittner, Muhammad Zahir, Nicholas Jarman, Mark Williams, Devin Pettigrew, Michael Petraglia, Craig Lee, E. James Dixon, Nicole Boivin
Summary: The transition from hunting to herding in Mongolia and Eastern Eurasia transformed the region into a key social and economic center of the ancient world. Through archaeological surveys of melting ice margins in the Altai Mountains, a continuous record of more than 3500 years of human activity has been revealed, showing the significant role of big-game hunting and exploitation of alpine ice during the emergence of mobile pastoralism. Extensive ice melting and loss of wildlife in recent decades pose a serious threat to the future viability of herding lifeways and the archaeological record of hunting in montane zones.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Manja Zebre, Renato R. Colucci, Filippo Giorgi, Neil F. Glasser, Adina E. Racoviteanu, Costanza Del Gobbo
Summary: Research has reconstructed the environmental equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) in the European Alps based on climate records and model projections. It is projected that the environmental ELA will continue to rise in the future, potentially leading to further glacier melting.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lukas Rettig, Giovanni Monegato, Matteo Spagnolo, Irka Hajdas, Paolo Mozzi
Summary: Glacier-based reconstructions of Equilibrium Line Altitudes (ELAs) are crucial for understanding long-term changes in temperature and precipitation. Our study focuses on the south-eastern part of the European Alps during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), providing new insights into the ELA based on geomorphological evidence.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
William Kochtitzky, Luke Copland, Wesley Van Wychen, Romain Hugonnet, Regine Hock, Julian A. Dowdeswell, Toby Benham, Tazio Strozzi, Andrey Glazovsky, Ivan Lavrentiev, David R. Rounce, Romain Millan, Alison Cook, Abigail Dalton, Hester Jiskoot, Jade Cooley, Jacek Jania, Francisco Navarro
Summary: This study estimated the frontal ablation of marine-terminating glaciers in the Northern Hemisphere and found that these glaciers contributed an average of 44.47 to 51.98 Gt of ice to the ocean annually from 2000 to 2020, making a significant contribution to sea-level rise.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Matthew J. Hannaford, Kristen K. Beck
Summary: This study examines the climatic information within early colonial documentary records in southeast Africa and west-central Africa to understand rainfall variability over a 280-year period covering the Little Ice Age. It reveals that the two regions were distinct in terms of rainfall variability during the Little Ice Age, with southeast Africa generally drier and west-central Africa generally wetter. Additionally, both regions experienced multi-year droughts despite these mean state climatic conditions. The analysis also shows a complex and possibly non-stationary relationship between long-term rainfall and the El Nino-Southern Oscillation in southeast Africa. Overall, early colonial records provide valuable information for understanding hydroclimate variability in regions with sparse palaeoclimate records.
Article
Geography, Physical
Lonnie G. Thompson, Mary E. Davis, Ellen Mosley-Thompson, Stacy E. Porter, Gustavo Valdivia Corrales, Christopher A. Shuman, Compton J. Tucker
Summary: Alpine glaciers in the low- and mid-latitudes are responding quickly to changes in temperature, precipitation, and other factors. The data shows that nonpolar glaciers are experiencing mass loss, which compromises their climate records. The accelerating melting of glaciers due to warming temperatures poses a threat to nearby communities and the loss of unique climate histories.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Water Resources
D. A. Ganyushkin, O. S. Konkova, K. V. Chistyakov, D. V. Bantcev, A. V. Terekhov, E. P. Kunaeva, Yu. N. Kurochkin, T. A. Andreeva, D. D. Volkova
Summary: This study reconstructs the glaciers of the Shapshal Glaciation Center in Eastern Altai during the Little Ice Age and analyzes their subsequent reduction pattern. The shrinkage of the largest glacier on the Shapshal Ridge is examined in detail, using five time slices from 1955 to 2019. The study calculates the mass balance index of the glacier and determines its climate response time.
Article
Geography, Physical
Julia C. Webb, Julia McCarroll, Frank M. Chambers, Tim Thom
Summary: The Little Ice Age (LIA) is a well-known palaeoclimatic event, and it is considered one of the most significant global climate downturns in the Holocene. This study presents palaeoclimate data from three blanket peats in Yorkshire, showing that the LIA is evident in each site and has broad synchronicity with terrestrial datasets from other regions.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Manish Mehta, Vinit Kumar, Siddhi Garg, Aparna Shukla
Summary: The study of the Pensilungpa Glacier in the Zanskar Himalaya reveals a trend of retreat influenced by temperature increase and decreased precipitation, leading to a negative mass balance. Debris-cover has a significant impact on the glacier's mass balance and terminus retreat. The slower retreat rate of the glacier compared to others in the area suggests that terrain characteristics play a role in controlling glacier dynamics.
REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Julie Wee, Reynald Delaloye
Summary: This study provides evidence of the ongoing morphodynamical evolution of an actively back-creeping frozen landform based on long-term observations and measurements. The observations show an increase in liquid water-to-ice content ratio within the permafrost body and surface subsidence at a rate of a few centimeters per year. This indicates that the ongoing degradation is reaching a tipping point and gradually inactivating the mechanism of permafrost creep.
PERMAFROST AND PERIGLACIAL PROCESSES
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Jianglin Wang, Bao Yang, Miao Fang, Zhiyuan Wang, Jingjing Liu, Shuyuan Kang
Summary: This study assesses the agreement of peak temperatures during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and Little Ice Age (LIA) at different time and space scales. The results suggest that the synchronization of peak temperatures is more coherent at longer time and larger space scales. However, at local and regional scales, there are substantial timing differences. The synchronization is related to the contribution of external forcing and internal variability.
Article
Geography, Physical
Etienne Legrain, Pierre -Henri Blard, Masa Kageyama, Julien Charreau, Guillaume Leduc, Stella Bourdin, David Bekaert
Summary: Glaciers are shrinking worldwide due to anthropogenic warming, which poses a threat to water accessibility in downstream areas. This study investigates the relationship between temperature changes and precipitation changes in high-elevation regions using historical and modern data. The findings suggest that precipitation changes are linearly related to altitude temperature changes and project that future warming may have a greater impact in high-altitude regions.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Will Kochtitzky, Luke Copland, Trudy Wohlleben, Pilipoosie Iqaluk, Catherine Girard, Warwick F. Vincent, Alexander I. Culley
Summary: This study presents the first field and remote sensing observations of Thores Glacier in northern Ellesmere Island, Canada. The glacier is slow-moving and has shown little change in terminus position since at least 1959. The supraglacial drainage network is poorly developed, with no evidence of water reaching the glacier bed. If the glacier thins or retreats sufficiently, regional drainage will reverse and Thores Lake would no longer exist.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
C. Barr, J. Tibby, M. J. Leng, J. J. Tyler, A. C. G. Henderson, J. T. Overpeck, G. L. Simpson, J. E. Cole, S. J. Phipps, J. C. Marshall, G. B. McGregor, Q. Hua, F. H. McRobie
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2019)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Diana Greenslade, Mark Hemer, Alex Babanin, Ryan Lowe, Ian Turner, Hannah Power, Ian Young, Daniel Ierodiaconou, Greg Hibbert, Greg Williams, Saima Aijaz, Joao Albuquerque, Stewart Allen, Michael Banner, Paul Branson, Steve Buchan, Andrew Burton, John Bye, Nick Cartwright, Amin Chabchoub, Frank Colberg, Stephanie Contardo, Francois Dufois, Craig Earl-Spurr, David Farr, Ian Goodwin, Jim Gunson, Jeff Hansen, David Hanslow, Mitchell Harley, Yasha Hetzel, Ron Hoeke, Nicole Jones, Michael Kinsela, Qingxiang Liu, Oleg Makarynskyy, Hayden Marcollo, Said Mazaheri, Jason McConochie, Grant Millar, Tim Moltmann, Neal Moodie, Joao Morim, Russel Morison, Jana Orszaghova, Charitha Pattiaratchi, Andrew Pomeroy, Roger Proctor, David Provis, Ruth Reef, Dirk Rijnsdorp, Martin Rutherford, Eric Schulz, Jake Shayer, Kristen Splinter, Craig Steinberg, Darrell Strauss, Greg Stuart, Graham Symonds, Karina Tarbath, Daniel Taylor, James Taylor, Darshani Thotagamuwage, Alessandro Toffoli, Alireza Valizadeh, Jonathan van Hazel, Guilherme Vieira da Silva, Moritz Wandres, Colin Whittaker, David Williams, Gundula Winter, Jiangtao Xu, Aihong Zhong, Stefan Zieger
BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY
(2020)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Thomas R. Mortlock, Zak Baillie, Ian D. Goodwin, Stuart Browning
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Paul R. Halloran, Ian R. Hall, Matthew Menary, David J. Reynolds, James D. Scourse, James A. Screen, Alessio Bozzo, Nick Dunstone, Steven Phipps, Andrew P. Schurer, Tetsuo Sueyoshi, Tianjun Zhou, Freya Garry
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marta Ribo, Ian D. Goodwin, Philip O'Brien, Thomas Mortlock
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2020)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Charles G. Gertler, Paul A. O'Gorman, Ben Kravitz, John C. Moore, Steven J. Phipps, Shingo Watanabe
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2020)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
C. J. Fogwill, C. S. M. Turney, L. Menviel, A. Baker, M. E. Weber, B. Ellis, Z. A. Thomas, N. R. Golledge, D. Etheridge, M. Rubino, D. P. Thornton, T. D. van Ommen, A. D. Moy, M. A. J. Curran, S. Davies, M. Bird, N. C. Munksgaard, C. M. Rootes, H. Millman, J. Vohra, A. Rivera, A. Mackintosh, J. Pike, I. R. Hall, E. A. Bagshaw, E. Rainsley, C. Bronk-Ramsey, M. Montenari, A. G. Cage, M. R. P. Harris, R. Jones, A. Power, J. Love, J. Young, L. S. Weyrich, A. Cooper
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lauren J. Vargo, Brian M. Anderson, Ruzica Dadic, Huw J. Horgan, Andrew N. Mackintosh, Andrew D. King, Andrew M. Lorrey
NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE
(2020)
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
C. Barr, J. Tibby, M. J. Leng, J. J. Tyler, A. C. G. Henderson, J. T. Overpeck, G. L. Simpson, J. E. Cole, S. J. Phipps, J. C. Marshall, G. B. McGregor, Q. Hua, F. H. McRobie
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Nicky M. Wright, Claire E. Krause, Steven J. Phipps, Ghyslaine Boschat, Nerilie J. Abram
Summary: The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is the key mode of climate variability in the extratropical Southern Hemisphere. This study shows that solar irradiance changes can significantly alter the average state of SAM, and transient last millennium simulations using a high-amplitude solar scenario have a better agreement with proxy-based SAM reconstructions.
CLIMATE OF THE PAST
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yaowen Zheng, Lenneke M. Jong, Steven J. Phipps, Jason L. Roberts, Andrew D. Moy, Mark A. J. Curran, Tas D. van Ommen
Summary: SouthWestWestern Australia has experienced a prolonged reduction in rainfall in recent decades, with the anomaly of recent decades being confirmed as unique and unusual over the past 2000 years. The study suggests that anthropogenic greenhouse gases may have contributed to the drying trend in rainfall after 1971 CE, while natural variability may also have played a role in determining the reduction in rainfall.
CLIMATE OF THE PAST
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Steven J. Phipps, Jason L. Roberts, Matt A. King
Summary: Parameterisations are simplified schemes used in geoscientific models to describe physical processes, with values that may be poorly constrained. Uncertainty in parameter values leads to uncertainty in model outputs. A systematic approach for sampling parameter space is necessary for proper quantification of uncertainty in model predictions. Large ensemble modelling is required to incorporate the uncertainty arising from parameterisation of physical processes.
GEOSCIENTIFIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Steven J. Phipps, R. Quentin Grafton, Tom Kompas
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Ian Allison, Charles Fierz, Regine Hock, Andrew Mackintosh, Georg Kaser, Samuel U. Nussbaumer
HISTORY OF GEO- AND SPACE SCIENCES
(2019)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Pearse J. Buchanan, Richard J. Matear, Zanna Chase, Steven J. Phipps, Nathan L. Bindoff
GEOSCIENTIFIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT
(2019)