Major glacier hazard locations

Population, area and economy affected by a 1m sea level rise (global and regional estimates, based on today’s situation)

Even for today’s socio-economic conditions, both regionally and globally, large numbers of people and significant economic activity are exposed to sea-level rise. The densely…

Overview of world glaciers and ice caps

By far the largest area of glaciers and ice fields are found in Canada (about 201 000 km2), followed by Alaska (about 75 000…

Projected sea-level rise for the 21st century

The projected range of global averaged sea-level rise from the IPCC 2001 Assessment Report for the period 1990 to 2100 is shown by the…

Arctic temperatures in the 20th century, modeled and observed

Observed Arctic winter land temperatures and IPCC model recreations for the 20th century. Note that although these model runs are able to capture the…

Effects of sea-level rise on water resources of small islands and low-lying coastal areas

The water resources of small islands and low-lying coastal areas are very susceptible to sea-level rise. This figure illustrates the direct impacts on the…

Jakobshavn Isbrae and ice fjord, showing locations of the calving ice front in years from 1851 to 2006, together with flow velocity observations

The glacier extends through the Illulisat Icefjord, surrounded by mountains. Icebergs calve off from the main glacier, pile up and block the fjord before…

Time series of freeze-up and break-up dates from selected Northern Hemisphere lakes and rivers, 1846–1995

Limited by the availability of detailed observations, most historical evaluations of changes in freshwater ice have focused on relatively simple characteristics, such as the…

Estimates of people flooded in coastal areas in the 2080s as a result of sea-level rise and for given socio-economic scenarios and protection responses

The lines represent IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) based on different world views. The differences in impacts between the SRES scenarios for…

Monthly average sea ice extent globally and in both hemispheres

In the Arctic, winter sea ice extends over an area of approximately 15 million km2 at its peak in March and up to 7…

Trends in Arctic sea-ice extent in March (maximum) and September (minimum) in the time period of 1979–2006

For the Northern Hemisphere (primarily the Arctic), observations using remote sensing technologies have been used to measure the extent and the to assess the…

Cryosphere-winter seasons, Northern and Southern Hemispheres

Seasonal variation in the extent of ice and snow cover is greatest in the Northern Hemisphere. Imagine the Earth with white caps on the…