An ice shelf is a thick platform of ice that forms at the grounding line of a glacier, where the glacier meets the coastline.
Year: 2016
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
With rising Arctic temperatures, there have been major changes in iceberg production rates from marine terminating glaciers. These icebergs drift into warmer sea waters where they will slowly melt.
In general, a glacier is formed and maintained by a cycle of snow falling at high altitudes, melt occurring at lower altitudes and or discharge into the sea.
Year: 2016
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
Increasing precipitation on a glacier would add to the glacier's mass, thereby directly countering the melting. Also, the snow that falls would increase glacial albedo, and thereby reduce the amount of absorbed energy.
Mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet quadrupled over the past two decades, contributing a quarter of the observed global sea-level rise.
Year: 2015
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
Several high mountain communities around the world have a long history of building barriers and other constructions that trap or hold meltwater by refreezing it (Nüsser et al. 2019b).
The loss of ice in Greenland and the shrinking of glaciers in other parts of the Arctic currently contribute up to 40% of the average 3 mm global sea level rise per year. A number of studies suggest that Greenland could be a major contributor to a potential rise in sea levels of 0,5 to 1 meter by the end of the century.
Year: 2013
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
There is a suggestion to use localized surface technologies to create artificial snow cover on mountain glaciers Oerlemans et al. (2017).
Mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet quadrupled over the past two decades, contributing a quarter of the observed global sea-level rise.
Year: 2015
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
One method to increase the albedo of individual glaciers already in use is to wrap them in reflective materials.
Krossfjorden lies within the Spitsbergen National Park in the Svalbard archipelago. The mountain formations in this area represent different geological periods and the site is recognized as an important monitoring station for climate variations. Lucky visitors to the area might witness the calving of ice into the sea from one of the five surrounding fjords.
Year: 2015
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
It has recently been suggested that hollow glass microspheres (HGM, see also see sea ice albedo increase) could be used to increase the albedo of mountain glaciers and thereby slow their melt.
It covers about 98% of the Antarctic continent and is the largest single mass of ice on Earth.
Year: 2016
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
It has been suggested that ice sheets could be stabilized by building physical structures that could artificially support and buttress them.
The loss of ice in Greenland and the shrinking of glaciers in other parts of the Arctic currently contribute up to 40% of the average 3 mm global sea level rise per year. A number of studies suggest that Greenland could be a major contributor to a potential rise in sea levels of 0,5 to 1 meter by the end of the century.
Year: 2013
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
It has been suggested that ice sheets could be stabilized by reducing the lubrication effect of water below the ice sheet.
Glaciers cover around 59% of Svalbard, which is made up of four islands, Spitsbergen, Nordaustlandet, Edgerøya and Barentsrøya. Many of the glaciers in this area are known to surge, meaning that for 100 years they can remain still and silent, only to suddenly and violently move, advancing from the upper area of the glacier towards the mouth.
Year: 2015
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
Engineer Paul Klinkman has suggested increasing the water content around glaciers and ice sheets to increase precipitation over them (see Klinkman Solar Design, U2).
Uummannaq is home to 1400 people and 3000 dogs. This district boasts the largest number of glaciers found in the one place.
Year: 2011
Photographer: Lawrence Hislop
Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) is an idea to inject particles in the stratosphere to reduce the amount of incoming solar energy (Rasch et al. 2008; Irvine et al. 2016).
Seal hunting (mainly on abundant ring seals) is an important part of life for the Inuit of Pond Inlet (Inuktitut: Mittimatalik).
Year: 2013
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
Apart from thickening sea ice by directly adding mass to it (see sea ice thickening), it has been suggested that the ice could also be protected by increasing its albedo and thereby reducing the amount of absorbed energy (Field et al. 2018).
Sea ice is simply frozen ocean water. It forms, grows, and melts in the ocean. In contrast, icebergs, glaciers, ice sheets, and ice shelves all originate on land.
Year: 1991
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
Sea ice thickening is an idea to slow or reverse the decline of Arctic sea ice by artificially thickening it.