Ice sheets and glaciers

Glacier

Skating in a small ice cave below Byron Glacier, in the Chugach National Forest of Alaska.

Year: 2017


Photographer: Paxson Woelber (edited by Frameworks)


Interventions

Melting glacier ice, Alpefjord, Northeast Greenland National Park

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

Up to 50% of the world’s glaciers are predicted to disappear this century, with many more at risk if emission reduction targets are not met (Rounce et al. 2023). Furthermore, the melting of mountain glaciers impacts the rates and seasonality of meltwater abundance and scarcity.

Melting glacier ice, Rødefjord, Northeast Greenland National Park

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

Up to 50% of the world’s glaciers are set to disappear this century, with many more at risk if emission reduction targets are not met (Rounce et al. 2023).

Glacier in Southern Greenland

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

Up to 50% of the world’s glaciers are set to disappear this century, with many more at risk if emission reduction targets are not met (Rounce et al. 2023).

Antarctic Peninsula 2

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

Up to 50% of the world’s glaciers are set to disappear this century, with many more at risk if emission reduction targets are not met (Rounce et al. 2023).

Glacier mouth, Svalbard

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

Up to 50% of the world’s glaciers are set to disappear this century, with many more at risk if emission reduction targets are not met (Rounce et al. 2023).

Melting glacier ice, Rødefjord, Northeast Greenland National Park (1)

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 of the potentially most catastrophic effects of contemporary global warming would be the dramatic increase in sea levels as a result of the melting Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Even if all current emissions were immediately stopped, sea level rise could still occur because of locked-in warming (State of the Cryosphere report 2022).
Glacier in Southern Greenland (1)

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

One of the potentially most catastrophic effects of contemporary global warming would be the dramatic increase in sea levels as a result of the melting Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Even if all current emissions were immediately stopped, sea level rise could still occur because of lockedin warming (ICCI 2022).

Glacier mouth, Krossfjorden, Svalbard

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

Up to 50% of the world’s glaciers are set to disappear this century, with many more at risk if emission reduction targets are not met (Rounce et al. 2023). The surface of many mountain glaciers has moreover significantly darkened due to a general increase in atmospheric black carbon and other kinds of aerosols.