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Glaciers

A view of the landslide and tsunami aftermath a few days after the catastrophic events

A Sudden Landslide Triggered Alaska’s 2025 ‘Mega-Tsunami.’ Now, Scientists Have Identified Warning Signs to Predict Similar Events

Natural disasters like the one at Tracy Arm fjord, about 45 miles south of Juneau, could become more common as climate change alters frigid landscapes, according to researchers

This arrow with a pressure-flaked arrowhead made from gray quartzite dates to the Late Stone Age or Bronze Age and was found on Norway’s ice. The pitch and the animal sinew used to fasten the arrowhead are still preserved, which is exceptionally rare.

Melting Mountain Ice Is Bringing Ancient Secrets to the Surface. Archaeologists Are Racing to Find the Artifacts Before They’re Lost to Time

In Norway’s highest mountains, experts are scouring perilous terrain for pieces of the past, long stored in mint condition in ice patches. As temperatures rise across the world, glacial archaeologists must find the emerging artifacts before they degrade forever

Sea ice forms off the edge of the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea.

Warm Waters Are Usually Trapped Deep Within the Southern Ocean. Now, They’re Encroaching on Antarctica, Threatening Its Ice

Two new studies that relied on data from a fleet of diving robots show how climate change is altering ocean movements in ways that jeopardize the stability of the polar ice cap

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There's More to That

The Tragedy of the Alps’ Disappearing Glaciers for Those Who Live, Visit and Ski There

Warming temperatures are wreaking havoc at elevation, upending the Winter Olympics and the tourism industry and imperiling communities

The new map revealed tens of thousands of previously undiscovered landforms.

What’s Buried Beneath Antarctica’s Ice? A New Map Unveils the Continent’s Hidden Landscape Like Never Before

A better understanding of the bedrock can help researchers calculate how quickly the continent’s melting glaciers might affect sea-level rise

More than 1.8 billion people lived under drought conditions in 2022 and 2023, according to a report from the United Nations.

United Nations Declares That the World Has Entered an Era of ‘Global Water Bankruptcy’

We’re living beyond our hydrological means and need to focus on long-term recovery, according to a new report

The Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) owns about half of Switzerland’s 320 huts, including the Almageller Hut on the southern side of Weissmies Mountain above the village of Saas-Almagell.

The Race Is On to Save the Alps’ Famous Huts and Trails as Melting Permafrost Threatens to Destroy Them

Hiking will always be a part of life in the Alps, but climate change has made navigating high-alpine routes more complicated

Morteratsch Glacier in Switzerland

How Many Glaciers Will Survive Until the End of the Century? These Four Scenarios Show It’s Not Looking Good

Researchers calculated every glacier’s lifespan and found that even at the most ambitious Paris Agreement goal, the planet would lose around half of its 200,000 glaciers by 2100

A new study suggests the Hektoria Glacier, seen here in 2024, shrank by 16 miles between January 2022 and March 2023—and five miles in November and December 2022 alone.

One Glacier’s ‘Out of This World’ Retreat Might Have Set a Modern Record. Now, Scientists Pieced Together What Happened

New research finds that Hektoria, a grounded glacier in Antarctica, shrank with astounding speed in 2022 and 2023

Culiseta annulata, the mosquito species discovered in Iceland this month.

Iceland Is No Longer Mosquito Free. Is Climate Change to Blame?

It was previously thought to be one of the last places on Earth without the insects

Conness Glacier.

New Research

By 2100, Humans Might See a Glacier-Free Sierra Nevada for the First Time Ever

A new study suggests some glaciers have existed on the California mountain range for the entirety of known human history in North America

Alsek Glacier disconnected from the shoreline of Alsek Lake sometime this summer, transforming a mountain known as Prow Knob into an island.

Glacial Melting in Alaska Has Created a New Island

Alsek Glacier disconnected from a mountain called Prow Knob sometime this past summer, making way for Alsek Lake to surround the landmass

Ecology Glacier on Antarctica’s King George Island in winter, where the body of Dennis “Tink” Bell was recovered

Remains of a Lost Antarctic Researcher Are Finally Recovered, 66 Years After He Fell Into a Crevasse

A team of Polish scientists found bone fragments and items belonging to Dennis “Tink” Bell near Ecology Glacier on Antarctica’s King George Island

A glacier in Greenland, pictured in June 2025.

24 Billion Gallons of Water Burst Through Greenland’s Ice Sheet From a Hidden Lake in 2014. Scientists Just Pieced Together What Happened

A new study suggests ice sheet meltwater doesn’t always move downward—sometimes, it can erupt

Gilad Topaz's "Drifting In Space" captures the moment that passengers onboard an icebreaker in the frozen Baltic Sea took a short break to swim.

See Ten Stunning Images From the International Aerial Photographer of the Year Awards

Breathtaking views of glaciers, volcanoes and animals were celebrated in the competition’s inaugural year

Chile's Mocho-Choshuenco volcano, as seen from the air in June 2019

Melting Glaciers Will Lead to More Volcanic Eruptions, Study Suggests. Now, All Eyes Are On Antarctica

New research from the Chilean Patagonia has identified a link between glacial retreat and underground volcanic activity

The "blob" south of Greenland has cooled over the last century, despite warming surface temperatures across the rest of the planet.

Scientists Shed Light on the Mysterious ‘Cold Blob’ in the North Atlantic Amid a Search for Its Cause

In two recent studies, researchers suggest a weakening ocean current system is to blame for a persistent cold spot in the Atlantic Ocean, though other factors may also be at play

Scoresby Sund in Eastern Greenland is the largest fjord system in the world.

Nine Ways to Experience Greenland’s Unique Culture and Icy Landscapes

The first-ever direct flights from the United States to Greenland will give tourists easier access to the island’s history, culture and natural wonders

Houston is the fastest-sinking of the 28 most populated U.S. cities, according to a new study that examined the urban areas through satellite observations. The Texas city got most of its water from the ground in the 1950s to ’70s, which led to subsidence.

The Land Beneath the Biggest U.S. Cities Is Sinking, Finds New Analysis of Satellite Data

Largely due to groundwater pumping and shifting of land after the last ice age, major urban areas are subsiding, which could destabilize buildings or worsen flooding

Photographs of the Rhône glacier and the attempts to save it

Art Meets Science

Art Exhibition Immortalizes Switzerland’s Rhône Glacier, Predicted to Disappear by 2050

Ohan Breiding’s “Belly of a Glacier” combines experimental film and photography to reflect on a moment of loss—and to fight against it

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