Northern glaciers retreating

Across the Northern Hemisphere, more than 1,700 glaciers touch the ocean. Many of these glacier fronts are floating, with some spreading out into wide, flat ice sheets. Others are grounded, connected to the seafloor. Most of them are retreating. 

Arctic Ocean sinkholes

Scientists have discovered massive sinkholes on the Arctic seafloor as submerged permafrost thaws. Rather than climate change, these sinkholes appear to be caused by heated, slowly moving groundwater systems. 

Arctic 30C above normal

Alarming heatwaves at both of the Earth’s poles are causing great concern among climate scientists, who have warned the “unprecedented” events could signal faster and abrupt climate breakdown. 

Arctic sea ice thinning

Over the past two decades, the Arctic has lost about one-third of its winter sea ice volume, mostly due to a decline in sea ice that persists over several decades, called multiyear ice, according to a new study. The study also revealed that sea ice is likely thinner than previous estimates. 

Arctic salinity

Researchers at the Barcelona Expert Center (BEC) of the Institut de Ciencies del Mar (ICM-CSIS) have improved their marine circulation prediction in the Arctic with satellite derived salinity measurements.

Accelerating melt in Greenland

Researchers have observed extremely high rates of melting at the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet, caused by massive quantities of meltwater falling from the surface to the base. As the meltwater falls, heat is generated in a process like the hydroelectric power generated by large dams.