Trends in spring temperatures and ice break-up dates in Canada

In Canada, recent evidence indicates a shortening of the freshwater-ice season over much of the country with the reduction being mainly attributable to earlier…

Projected temperatures in the 21th century

Projected Arctic annual land temperature increases for the first half of the 21st century relative to the average temperature for 1980–99. The average of…

Annual mass balance of Maliy Aktru Glacier, Russian Altai

Measurements on this valley-type glacier in the North Chuyskiy Range show a slightly negative annual mass balance trend culminating in an ice loss of…

Arctic sea ice minimum extent in September 1982 and 2005

The red line indicates the median minimum extent of the ice cover for the period 1979–2000. This figure compares the Arctic sea-ice extent in…

Trends in Antarctic tourism

Antarctic annual sea-ice extent is projected to decrease by 25 per cent by 2100, and this will bring easier access to the Antarctic continent…

Northern Sea Route and the Northwest Passage compared with currently used shipping routes

Climate models project that summer sea ice in the Arctic Basin will retreat further and further away from most Arctic landmasses, opening new shipping…

Glacier shrinking on Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island, Canadian Arctic

A new glacier inventory based on satellite data shows that the glacier cover reduced by about 22 per cent between the Little Ice Age…

Formation of lakes and glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) by Medvezhi Glacier, Pamirs

The increasing number of glacial and moraine lakes in Central Asian mountains is a matter of great concern. One of the surging glaciers that…

Arctic temperature anomaly patterns

Natural climate variability is organized into spatial patterns of high and low pressure regions, represented by the Arctic Oscillation (also called the Northern Annular…

Trends in permafrost temperatures and active-layer thickness, Northern Tien Shan mountains

Mountain permafrost in Central Asia occupies approximately 3.5 million square kilometres and makes up about 15 per cent of the total permafrost area in…

Maps of average sea ice extent in the Arctic summer (September) and winter (March), and in the Antarctic summer (February) and winter (September)

Passive microwave sensors on satellites have monitored the extent of the sea ice cover since 19782. This technique is widely used to investigate fluctuations…

World ocean thermohaline circulation

The global conveyor belt thermohaline circulation is driven primarily by the formation and sinking of deep water (from around 1500m to the Antarctic bottom…