<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
    <rss version="2.0">
      <channel xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/">
        <title>Frontiers in Earth Science | Cryospheric Sciences section | New and Recent Articles</title>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/sections/cryospheric-sciences</link>
        <description>RSS Feed for Cryospheric Sciences section in the Frontiers in Earth Science journal | New and Recent Articles</description>
        <language>en-us</language>
        <generator>Frontiers Feed Generator,version:1</generator>
        <pubDate>2026-05-13T12:10:04.430+00:00</pubDate>
        <ttl>60</ttl>
        <item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1564035</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1564035</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Spatial and temporal variability of snow in the Andes using MODIS snow product 2000–2025]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-05T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Freddy Saavedra</author><author>Ana Hernández-Duarte</author><author>Alexis Caro</author><author>Antoine Rabatel</author><author>Steven Fassnacht</author><author>Thomas Condom</author><author>Stephanie Kampf</author><author>Mariano Masiokas</author><author>Carlos Romero</author><author>Yael Aguirre</author><author>Daniela González</author><author>Valentina Contreras</author><author>Javier Medina</author><author>Pablo Arancibia</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Snow is a critical component of the Andean hydrological system, supporting water supply for drinking, irrigation, hydropower, and industry. Persistent cloud cover and limited in situ observations have hindered long-term assessments of snow dynamics across the Andes, the world’s longest mountain range. Here, we present a continent-scale analysis of snow persistence (SP) and snowline elevation from 2000 to 2025 using daily MODIS Terra–Aqua products enhanced with advanced temporal and spatial cloud-reduction algorithms. Cloud persistence was reduced from 49% to 29%, substantially increasing the usable observational record for snow detection, although cloud-related limitations remain in tropical and southern Patagonia regions. Our results reveal that snow responses are strongly heterogeneous along the mountain chain. There is a marked and spatially coherent decline in SP between 29 °S and 36 °S, where an area equivalent to approximately 80,000 km2 of snow cover has been lost over the past 26 years. In this region, the snowline rose by 5–15 m yr⁻¹, reaching cumulative increases of up to 500 m. At the watershed scale, only basins in the Central Andes (29 °S – 36 °S) exhibit statistically significant SP declines and rising snowlines, while tropical watersheds show minimal snow presence and southern Patagonia displays mixed patterns partially influenced by persistent cloud cover. The accelerating loss of seasonal snow in the central Andes has profound implications for water security in regions where snowmelt is a dominant hydrological input. Our results underscore the need for higher-resolution multispectral and radar observations, expanded ground-based monitoring, and integrative modeling approaches to quantify snow water equivalent and anticipate future changes. Collectively, this study provides one of the most comprehensive assessments to date of Andean snow dynamics and highlights the central Andes as a hotspot of cryospheric sensitivity to ongoing climate change.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1706342</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1706342</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Simulating meltwater oxygen isotopes as a proxy for assessing geothermal heat flow in Greenland]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-04-28T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Jakob Gradl</author><author>Basile de Fleurian</author><author>Martin Rückamp</author><author>Hans Christian Steen-Larsen</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Geothermal heat flow is an important control on the dynamics of glaciers and ice sheets. In Greenland however, the exact magnitude and distribution of geothermal heat flow under the ice sheet is largely unknown as only few direct measurements exist at the locations of the deep ice cores. For this reason, several studies have attempted to constrain geothermal heat flow under the ice sheet through various statistical, geophysical, and ice-dynamical modelling efforts. However, many of the different heat flow estimates produced by these models disagree substantially in terms of magnitude and spatial distribution of estimated heat flow values. The oxygen stable isotope composition of ice sheet basal meltwater has so far not been considered in studies of Greenland geothermal heat flow. In this study, we simulate how different estimates of geothermal heat flow affect the production of basal meltwater and its isotopic composition. In our simulations, the modelled δ18O values of the basal meltwater show clear and measurable differences between the different model scenarios on the order of a few permille. These results indicate that the spatial configuration of geothermal heat flow is imprinted in the isotopic composition of the subglacial meltwater. We find that transport and mixing of basal meltwater in the subglacial drainage system have substantial influence on the nature of the observed isotope variability such that different sampling locations are sensitive to different aspects of the heat flow distribution in their isotope signal, such as background heat flow magnitude or presence of a central hotspot. The results of our proof-of-concept study suggest that the δ18O value of the subglacial meltwater in North-East Greenland is sensitive to magnitude and distribution of geothermal heat flow. Its study could, therefore, be an avenue to improve geothermal heat flow estimates for Greenland and assess the accuracy of existing estimates.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1740374</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1740374</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Glacier dynamics, proglacial lake expansion, and GLOF risk assessment in the lato basin, Trans-Himalayan Ladakh]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-04-13T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Rayees Ahmed</author><author>Janhavi Jadhav</author><author>Rasiq A. Mir</author><author>Hemant Singh</author><author>Lander Van Tricht</author><author>Syed Towseef Ahmad</author><author>Riyaz Ahmad Mir</author><author>Devendra Nagale</author><author>Divyesh Varade</author><author>Pervez Ahmed</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The accelerating retreat of glaciers and expansion of glacial lakes in the Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh are intensifying the risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), posing significant threats to vulnerable downstream communities. However, high-altitude basins like Lato remain poorly assessed in terms of integrated glacier–lake dynamics and hazard potential. In this study, we present a detailed, multi-parameter assessment of the Lato glacier–lake system over a 40-year period (1980–2020), combining remote sensing, empirical modeling, and hydrodynamic simulations. Our results show an ∼11.5% reduction in glacier area, a mean terminus retreat of ∼171 m at the rate of 4.2 m yr-1, and a decline in total ice volume from 0.48 km3 to 0.41 km3 (1980–2020). Glacier surface velocities, derived using Glacier Image Velocimetry (GIV), ranged from 0.97 to 15.73 m yr-1, with mean values between 7.63 and 8.03 m yr-1. Ice thickness was estimated using GlabTop2 and ensemble modeling approaches, yielding average thicknesses of 76 m and 58 m, respectively. Geodetic mass balance calculations indicate a persistent negative trend, with an average loss of −0.33 m w.e. yr-1 since the early 2000s. The proglacial Lato lake expanded by ∼66%, reaching 0.088 km2 in 2020. Lake depth and volume were estimated using multiple empirical models, with the most robust estimate placing the lake volume at 1.47 × 106 m3. GLOF susceptibility analysis using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) assigned a high-risk index of 0.82 to the lake. Two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations using HEC-RAS under full and partial breach scenarios forecast peak discharges of 3726 m3s-1 and 2309 m3s-1, respectively, with a potential impact zone extending ∼23 km downstream. This study not only identifies Lato lake as a high-risk GLOF site but also offers region-specific recommendations including glacier and lake monitoring, early warning systems, and the integration of GLOF risk into regional planning and disaster preparedness frameworks.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1744420</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1744420</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Evaluating Arctic sea ice and snow thickness simulations: methodological insights from MOSAiC and CMIP6 data]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-04-13T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Shreya Trivedi</author><author>Imke Sievers</author><author>Marylou Athanase</author><author>Antonio Sánchez-Benítez</author><author>Tido Semmler</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The Arctic sea ice cover and thickness have rapidly declined in recent years, with snow cover on sea ice playing a key role in driving this variability and trend. Arctic sea ice and snow properties also strongly regulate heat and momentum exchange between the ocean and atmosphere, making their accurate representation in climate models essential. Yet in situ observations of Arctic sea ice and snow thickness are scarce. The year-long Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition provided valuable, high-resolution measurements of these properties, but this dataset is short-term and localized compared to the observational products typically used for model evaluation. We examine whether free-running climate model simulations can be meaningfully compared to point observations, such as those from MOSAiC, to assess model performance. To address this, we employ multiple methodological approaches to generate representative seasonal cycles of simulated snow and sea ice thickness: a standard 30-year climatology, two proxy-year methods (based on sea ice area (SIA) and the Arctic Oscillation (AO) index), atmospherically nudged simulations, and a Monte Carlo random-year benchmark. We find that the SIA-based proxy method performs comparably to the 30-year climatology. In contrast, the AO-based proxy method reduces bias relative to the SIA method for snow thickness comparisons. However, both methods nevertheless fail to accurately reproduce the amplitude of the observed snow thickness cycle, suggesting unresolved processes in models. Overall, these findings show potential for snow and sea ice evaluation against localized measurements and demonstrate that proxy methods can provide viable alternatives when nudging or direct temporal overlaps are unavailable. Finally, this study highlights the need for an improved representation of modeled sea ice and snow processes to enhance the next generation of global climate models.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1680019</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1680019</link>
        <title><![CDATA[New chemical signatures from Weißseespitze ice cores (Eastern Alps): pre-industrial pollution traces from Roman Empire to early modern period]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-03-13T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Azzurra Spagnesi</author><author>David Wachs</author><author>Pascal Bohleber</author><author>Elena Barbaro</author><author>Matteo Feltracco</author><author>Daniela Festi</author><author>Klaus Oeggl</author><author>Jacopo Gabrieli</author><author>Werner Aeschbach</author><author>Markus Oberthaler</author><author>Martin Stocker-Waldhuber</author><author>Andrea Gambaro</author><author>Carlo Barbante</author><author>Andrea Fischer</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionHigh-altitude glaciers in the Western European Alps have yielded crucial records of anthropogenic air pollution, revealing a sharp rise in pollutant levels over the past two centuries due to industrialisation. In contrast, studies in the Eastern Alps have been scarce, as their lower-elevation glaciers were often considered less suitable for preserving undisturbed records. Nevertheless, recent findings indicate that, under specific conditions, cold ice frozen to bedrock can persist below 4,000 m. This is exemplified by the Weißseespitze (WSS) summit ice cap (3,499 m a.s.l.), which, despite ongoing surface mass loss, preserved a 6000-year-old record within just ∼10 m of ice depth.MethodsBuilding on earlier research, this study provides an expanded chemical dataset of the upper 8.5 m of the 9.95 m ice core drilled in 2019 (core 2), now including 18 trace elements (Li, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Sr, Ag, Cd, Ba, Tl, Pb, Bi, U), carboxylic and dicarboxylic acids, and a deepened discussion on ionic compounds, which refines the already published record. To differentiate between natural contributions and anthropogenic sources, a Positive Matrix Factorisation analysis was applied to the full dataset. This analysis was further supported by Enrichment Factors calculations, which helped to discriminate between crustal and non-crustal sources.ResultsThanks to the novel age-depth scale obtained with 39Ar dating, in addition to previous 14C ages, the glacier’s age-depth model was further refined, revealing that the glacier surface formed approximately 371−60+96 years before 2019, while tying the prominent peak in chemistry found at 640 cm depth to about 891 years before 2019. Further insights on this horizon came from the comparison between the levoglucosan record, measured within the WSS ice core, and the micro-charcoal data available for the nearby Schwarzboden mire.DiscussionThis study underscores the exceptional value of the WSS glacier as a long-term archive of pre-industrial pollution. Alarmingly, approximately 4.5 m of ice have been lost as of 2025, accelerating the disappearance of this archive. With industrial-era layers already lost due to ice mass reduction and projections showing 30% of Ötztal glaciers could vanish by 2030, preserving and studying these records appears increasingly urgent.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1708150</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1708150</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Glacier changes and their impact on water resources in the qilian mountains, China between 1970 and 2020]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-03-09T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Bo Cao</author><author>Regine Hock</author><author>Haopeng Geng</author><author>Guangjian Wu</author><author>Baotian Pan</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Changes in glacier meltwater runoff in the Qilian Mountains situated on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau are important for sustaining water resources in the arid regions of Northwest China. Combining multi-period remote sensing, historical data and modeling, we evaluate the glacier mass and area changes as well as associated runoff change of all glaciers in the area. Glacier area shrunk by 516.8 km2 (∼26%, 0.53% ± 0.15% a−1) between 1970 and 2020 and glacier surface elevation change was −0.35 ± 0.04 m a−1 between 2000 and 2014. In general, glaciers in the eastern Qilian Mountains retreated faster than those in the western part. A mass balance model calibrated against geodetic estimates derived from DEM differencing was used to reconstruct annual glacier mass changes and runoff from 1990 to 2017. Across the 11 glacierized large-scale river basins (0.02%–2.5% glacierization), the index-based glacier runoff ratio relative to basin water input ranged from 0.1% to 6.2%. Results show an increase in glacier runoff volumes during 1990–2001, but no statistically significant trend thereafter (2002–2017) despite increasing glacier thinning. This slowdown is attributed to decreasing glacier area as the glaciers retreated. Overall, our findings highlight that while glacier runoff continues to play a critical role in sustaining river runoff in the Qilian Mountains, its buffering effect is weakening as glacier runoff approach peak water, implying increasing vulnerability of regional water resources to precipitation variability under future climate change.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1800330</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1800330</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Correction: Remote sensing of mountain snow from space: status and recommendations]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-03-03T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Correction</category>
        <author>Simon Gascoin</author><author>Kari Luojus</author><author>Thomas Nagler</author><author>Hans Lievens</author><author>Mariano Masiokas</author><author>Tobias Jonas</author><author>Zhaojun Zheng</author><author>Patricia De Rosnay</author>
        <description></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1761959</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2026.1761959</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Antarctica’s uncertain future: global sea-level rise from oceanic and atmospheric forcing, with a focus on atmospheric rivers]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-02-09T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Perspective</category>
        <author>Xun Zou</author><author>F. Martin Ralph</author><author>David H. Bromwich</author><author>Sarah T. Gille</author><author>Irina V. Gorodetskaya</author><author>Matthew R. Mazloff</author><author>Dan Lubin</author><author>Ivana Cerovečki</author><author>Rui Sun</author><author>Jonathan D. Wille</author><author>Zhenhai Zhang</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Antarctic land ice stores the majority of Earth’s freshwater and carries substantial uncertainties regarding its future contribution to global sea level rise. While ocean processes associated with basal melting currently dominate ice loss, atmospheric forcing could have an increasing future impact, especially with intensified extreme weather events. For instance, atmospheric rivers, which are key drivers of long-distance moisture transport, introduce significant uncertainties to Antarctica’s ice mass balance, as they are capable of causing both intense snowfall and surface melting. They also impact ocean stratification and mixed-layer depth through freshwater input, ultimately affecting air-sea exchange. Associated interactions among components of the Earth system—atmosphere, ocean, and glacier—are not fully captured by global climate models and observations. This paper assesses Antarctica’s future, highlighting uncertainties stemming from limited understanding of atmospheric and oceanic forcings such as atmospheric rivers, and their consequences for projecting sea-level rise-related hazards.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1720538</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1720538</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Optimizing subgrade design for blowing snow prevention: a CFD-based parametric study]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-01-08T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Jie Liu</author><author>Zhihao He</author><author>Yong Wang</author><author>Fenglong Wang</author><author>Zhiwei Yang</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Blowing snow poses a serious threat to highway traffic safety, and appropriate subgrade cross-sectional designs can effectively mitigate the impacts. Systematic studies on how to optimize subgrade structural design to maximize the mitigation of blowing snow disasters are still lacking. To address this, this paper investigates the fundamental parameters of two typical subgrades: embankments and cuttings. To investigate the influence of varying subgrade cross-sectional configurations and slope ratios on the effectiveness of blowing snow control with a focus on single-parameter variations, this study employs CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulations to analyze velocity contour distributions, snow accumulation patterns, and vertical wind velocity profiles around the models. The results demonstrate that implementing gentle slopes for subgrades (including both embankments and cuttings) or appropriately widening snow accumulation platforms of the cutting can effectively mitigate snow deposition on pavement surfaces. When wind flows through the cutting, the overall wind velocity profile exhibits a W-shaped distribution pattern. Meanwhile, variations in its depth and slope ratio both exhibit positive correlations with road snow accumulation. Furthermore, three embankment models with cross-sectional dimensions identical to those of field conditions but varying heights are established. Through combined field monitoring tests and numerical simulations, wind velocities are systematically measured at ten vertical elevations for all critical locations. Comparative results demonstrate that the flow field distribution patterns and variation trends observed in the field are highly consistent with the numerical simulation results, thereby validating the reliability of the numerical model. This research elucidates the underlying physical mechanisms of how subgrade structural parameters mitigate the impact of snowdrift disasters, providing scientifically validated references for hazard reduction along transportation corridors.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1691950</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1691950</link>
        <title><![CDATA[African contributions are missing from cryosphere research in Africa and worldwide]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-01-08T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Opinion</category>
        <author>Christian K. Asante</author><author>Christel D. Hansen</author><author>Douglas R. Hardy</author><author>Scott Hotaling</author>
        <description></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1658491</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1658491</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Characterization of the near-surface air temperature dynamics over glaciers using thermal infrared measurements]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-12-11T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Rebecca Mott</author><author>Michael Haugeneder</author><author>Ivana Stiperski</author><author>Patricia Asemann</author><author>Dylan Reynolds</author><author>Lindsey Nicholson</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Alpine glaciers are undergoing rapid mass loss, primarily driven by rising summer air temperatures. However, the glacier microclimate, especially the role of atmospheric dynamics near the surface and turbulent fluxes, is not adequately understood. This study examines the structure and variability of the glacier boundary layer, focusing on katabatic winds and their modulation by synoptic-scale disturbances. Using a high-resolution thermal infrared (TIR) camera (InfraTec VarioCam HD) directed at synthetic screens, we recorded spatio-temporally resolved air temperature fields within the lowest 4 m above the glacier surface. These measurements were complemented by turbulence data from a 5-m eddy covariance tower, enabling a combined analysis of thermal stratification and turbulent mixing. Our results reveal persistent temperature stratification during katabatic flow, often marked by strong gradients and localized zones of high temperature variance associated with the katabatic jet. These layers are intermittently disrupted by cross-glacier or synoptic-scale flows, enhancing turbulent mixing and advecting warm air toward the surface. The height of maximum temperature variance frequently coincided with the approximate jet height estimated from turbulence measurements, suggesting a link between glacier wind dynamics and thermal structure. However, this relationship weakens under fluctuating flow regimes, highlighting the complexity of glacier boundary layer processes and suggesting that stratification and mixing are highly sensitive to the vertical structure of glacier winds. The use of TIR imaging offers unique insights into the fine-scale temperature dynamics of glacier boundary layers, overcoming limitations of discrete-level turbulence sensors and enabling continuous spatial assessment of flow features. Our findings underscore the importance of shallow katabatic winds in enhancing near-surface mixing, with implications for the surface energy balance and, ultimately, glacier melt. Future research should combine this approach with advanced heat budget models and adapted methods such as the WEIRD technique to further unravel the complex coupling between glacier winds, atmospheric turbulence, and climate sensitivity of mountain glaciers.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1467247</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1467247</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Comparison of ECHAM6-wiso near-surface water vapour isotopic composition with in situ measurements at Neumayer Station III]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-11-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Martin Werner</author><author>Saeid Bagheri Dastgerdi</author><author>Alexandre Cauquoin</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Water isotope records from polar ice cores are crucial proxies for reconstructing past Antarctic climate and temperature changes. For such task, a robust understanding and accurate quantification of the temporal changes between δ18O and temperature is necessary. One option to facilitate this is employing simulations from atmospheric general circulation models that incorporate stable water isotopes. In this context, we assess in this study the results of the isotope-enabled AGCM ECHAM6-wiso model. We analyse results from a high-resolution simulation covering the period 2017–2020, where the atmospheric dynamics is nudged to ERA5 reanalysis data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Our investigation evaluates the agreement between different observed and simulated key physical and isotope quantities, including temperature, humidity, and the isotopic composition of surface water vapour (δ18Ov and δDv), at Neumayer Station III in East Antarctica. Additionally, our study evaluates the skill of the ECHAM6-wiso model in simulating stable water isotope ratios in snow (δ18Osnow and δDsnow) at Neumayer Station III for the recent past. The ECHAM6-wiso model exhibits skill in replicating the daily, monthly, and seasonal fluctuations of temperature, humidity, surface water vapour δ18Ov, and δDv. However, it demonstrates limitations in accurately simulating d-excess values on the different time scales. While the model does not precisely reproduce the observed surface δ18Ov-temperature relationship on a daily scale, it closely approximates this relationship on a monthly scale. For snow, the model slightly underestimates the δ18Osnow-temperature relationship when compared to observational data. To test if the ECHAM6-wiso model correctly simulates the water vapour sources and transport pathways to Neumayer Station III, we have performed related back trajectory studies. Based on simulation results of the FLEXPART model, we find that the water vapour back-trajectory results with ECHAM6-wiso are consistent with those based on ERA5 data. This result leads to the conclusion that ECHAM6-wiso is a very useful tool for analysing atmospheric moisture sources and transport pathways to East Antarctica under present climate conditions.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1701260</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1701260</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Temperature extremes across elevation gradients: evidence from two German mountain observatories]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-11-18T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Monica Ionita</author><author>Di Cai</author><author>Viorica Nagavciuc</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Mountain regions are warming rapidly, yet long records across elevation are rare. This study presents the first comprehensive assessment of temperature extremes across an elevation gradient in the Bavarian Alps at two long-term observatories: Hohenpeißenberg (977 m a.s.l., 1781–2024) and Zugspitze (2,956 m a.s.l., 1901–2024). We find a pronounced warming at both sites, characterized by significant acceleration in recent decades. At Hohenpeißenberg, the annual mean temperature increased by approximately +0.07 °C dec−1 since 1781, intensifying to +0.51 °C dec−1 after 1980. At Zugspitze, the corresponding warming rates are +0.08 °C dec−1 since 1901 and +0.33 °C dec−1 post 1980. Warming trends exhibit strong seasonality: summer has warmed the fastest (e.g., +0.60 at Hohenpeißenberg and +0.62 °C dec−1 at Zugspitze, since the 1980s), whereas long-term winter warming was more modest (+0.07 °C dec−1 at Hohenpeißenberg since 1781, +0.11 °C dec−1 at Zugspitze since 1901) before sharply accelerating in recent decades. A weak elevation dependent warming (EDW) signal emerges in autumn, with high altitude temperatures increasing as rapidly as, or exceeding, those at lower elevation. In contrast, winter, spring, and summer warming magnitudes are greater at the lower elevation site, resulting in comparable or even stronger overall warming there. Temperature extremes have also changed markedly: cold extremes have declined significantly at both locations (e.g., the duration of cold spells has decreased by 16 days at Hohenpeißenberg and by 10 days at Zugspitze, over the period 1981–2024), while warm extremes exhibit a pronounced rise, especially in the Warm Spell Duration Index (WSDI), which has nearly doubled since the 1980s. Snow depth has declined across all seasons, with losses accelerating during the past 4 decades, particularly at Zugspitze. Interannual variations in warm and cold extremes are significantly modulated by leading Euro Atlantic modes of variability, including the North Atlantic Oscillation, the East Atlantic pattern, the Arctic Oscillation, and the Scandinavian pattern, whose influence peaks in winter. Collectively, these long-term records provide robust evidence of an anthropogenic influence on temperature extremes at the two long-term observatories, characterized by fewer and shorter cold spells, more frequent and persistent heatwaves, and declining snowpack. These findings highlight the urgent necessity of incorporating mountain specific observational evidence into regional climate adaptation and policy frameworks.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1709127</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1709127</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Commentary: Safeguarding the polar regions from dangerous geoengineering: a critical assessment of proposed concepts and future prospects]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-11-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>General Commentary</category>
        <author>Matthew Henry</author><author>Alistair Duffey</author>
        <description></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1640842</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1640842</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Spatiotemporal variability of turbulent fluxes in snow-covered mountain terrain]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-11-13T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Rainette Engbers</author><author>Sergi Gonzàlez-Herrero</author><author>Franziska Gerber</author><author>Nander Wever</author><author>Michael Lehning</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Turbulent exchange of heat and moisture plays an important role in snow cover dynamics. Although these processes are subject to great spatial and temporal variability, especially in complex terrain, measurements of heat, moisture, and momentum fluxes are almost exclusively point observations. Numerical modeling offers a means to assess the spatial variability of fluxes and evaluate the representativeness of point observations. This study addresses this challenge by examining the spatiotemporal variability of surface–atmosphere energy exchange during different meteorological events in the Swiss Alps using the NWP model CRYOWRF. We analyze sources of errors in representing energy exchange over snow in mountain areas by models. To investigate this, we first compared fluxes derived from Monin-Obukhov parameterizations with direct Eddy Covariance measurements. While the parameterization generally captures the sign of the fluxes, it tends to underestimate their magnitude, up to 20 W m−2 for latent heat flux. We then evaluate CRYOWRF—the WRF model coupled with the SNOWPACK land-surface scheme–in representing fluxes and mean quantities. Simulations at 1 km and 200 m resolution are compared against data from 21 meteorological stations in a 40 × 40 km domain in the Swiss Alps during three conditions: a South Föhn, a North Föhn, and a quiescent day. Our findings indicate that while higher-resolution simulations improve agreement between measured and modeled variables, they tend to underestimate wind speeds (with a bias of up to 1.5 ± 0.2 m s−1), and turbulent fluxes (up to 14 ± 3.7 W m−2) and consequently lower snow surface temperatures (up to 3.3 ± 0.3 °C). In contrast, coarser-resolution simulations overestimate wind speeds, and therefore, heat fluxes. Our research demonstrates that magnitudes of turbulent fluxes scale linearly with local wind speeds (r-values between −0.80 and −0.98 for sensible heat flux on a south föhn day, p-values < 0.001), with locations at similar elevations exhibiting comparable trends of increasing turbulent flux with wind speed. Although temperature and humidity gradients generally decrease with elevation, higher elevations still experience greater net energy exchange between the surface and the atmosphere. A net magnitude increase of 30 W m−2 is observed between elevation differences of 1,000 m. Overall, our results suggest that point measurements should be used with caution for representing broader terrain conditions, especially when extrapolated for different elevations.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1672558</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1672558</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Enhancing snow depth estimation with snow cover geometrical descriptors]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-10-31T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Lucia Ferrarin</author><author>Karsten Schulz</author><author>Daniele Bocchiola</author><author>Franziska Koch</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Snow depth (SD) estimations are very valuable in particular for snow-hydrological modelling, water resource management, ecological studies, and natural hazard assessment such as avalanche forecasting. In statistical SD models, snow-covered area is often used as a source of information. This study explores whether including additional snow cover geometrical descriptors, i.e., the second and third Minkowski functionals: total perimeter (MF2) and Euler-Poincaré characteristic (MF3), improves SD estimation. We performed two different SD simulation setups employing a Random Forest regression framework in the Tuolumne River Basin, California, U.S., at a 500 m resolution. We used the high-resolution remote sensing-derived SD maps of the multi-year Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) dataset (2013–2016) at a 3 m spatial resolution for model development regarding the geometrical descriptors and evaluation regarding SD. In the baseline setup (BL-MF1), we trained the model with fractional snow-covered area, being the first Minkowski functional (MF1), topographic, and geographic variables. In the enhanced setup (EN-MF123), we also applied MF2 and MF3. Model performance, assessed by using R2, RMSE, MAE and MBE was compared between the enhanced model run including MF2 and MF3 and the baseline simulation. Results show that adding MF2 and MF3 (R2 = 0.87, RMSE = 0.17 cm, MAE = 0.10, MBE = 0.00) consistently improves model accuracy across diverse snow conditions and topographies compared to the baseline (R2 = 0.85, RMSE = 0.19 cm, MAE = 0.11, MBE = 0.00), however, with both variants performing in general well. The inclusion of the additional descriptors was beneficial in late-season melt conditions and fragmented snow cover areas, as the spatial structure captured by the geometrical descriptors improved prediction accuracy and reducing overestimation errors. However, the largest improvements were observed in deep, homogeneous snow cover areas where traditional predictors showed less variability. The methodology shows potential for enhancing snow-hydrological and avalanche risk models, with future work exploring its scalability across different mountain environments and spatial resolutions including different remote sensing products, and applicability to snow water equivalent estimation.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1649808</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1649808</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Advances and prospects in reconstruction approaches for snow cover mapping using polar-orbiting satellites]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-10-24T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Jun Zhang</author><author>Xiaoyue Zeng</author><author>Jun Wan</author><author>Jinghui Liu</author><author>Zhihong Xia</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Snow cover is recognized as one of the most variable land cover parameters and plays a critical role in the global energy balance, climate change, and hydrological processes. Polar-orbiting satellites serve as the primary data source for monitoring both polar and global snow cover, providing wide coverage and high spatial resolution products. However, the utility of these snow cover products is significantly limited by data gaps caused by unfavorable observation conditions, such as cloud cover. Various reconstruction approaches are required to fill these gaps, depending on the snow cover product type (binary snow cover (BSC), normalized difference snow index (NDSI), or fractional snow cover (FSC)), snow characteristics, and availability of auxiliary datasets. This paper categorizes current reconstruction approaches into eight types: temporal filters, spatial filters, multisensor fusion, and the hidden Markov random field (HMRF) model for BSC mapping, as well as temporal and spatial interpolation methods, spatiotemporal reconstruction algorithms, machine learning-based reconstruction techniques, and data assimilation methods for NDSI or FSC mapping. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the principles, advantages, and limitations of these approaches and offers recommendations for their appropriate application. The discussion highlights that future improvements in snow cover reconstruction can be achieved through three key approaches. First, enhancing snow cover recognition algorithms will increase the accuracy of the original snow cover products, providing more reliable prior information for reconstruction. Second, careful consideration of spatiotemporal environmental factors, such as terrain, temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, and forest cover, along with the development of corresponding multisource data processing and fusion techniques, is essential. Third, further exploration of the synergy between machine learning and data assimilation could leverage their strengths in multisource data processing scenarios, offering novel insights for conducting snow monitoring and forecasting in complex environments. This review contributes to snow cover mapping and related research by offering a comprehensive analysis and guidelines for generating gap-filled snow cover products across a variety of spatiotemporal scales.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1533336</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1533336</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Glacial and periglacial landforms and their recent dynamics in the Las Veguitas catchment, Cordillera Frontal of the Andes (Argentina)]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-10-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>E. Makopoulou</author><author>D. Trombotto Liaudat</author><author>P. Kuhry</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The semi-arid Andes of South America are characterized by large areas with glacial and periglacial environments. This study focuses on the distribution and recent dynamics of glacial and periglacial landforms in the Las Veguitas catchment (3000–5500 m), Cordillera Frontal of the Andes, Argentina. A detailed geomorphological map of the catchment is presented, based on high-resolution elevation data (ALOS PALSAR), satellite imagery (WorldView 2), and field studies. First, a topographical analysis is performed for the entire Las Veguitas catchment, including elevation, slope and aspect characteristics. Second, the altitudinal range and predominant aspect of glacial features (perennial snow patches, debris-free glaciers, debris-covered glaciers and supraglacial lakes on debris-covered glaciers) and periglacial features (active, inactive and fossil rock glaciers) are analyzed. Currently, glaciers are restricted to ≥4,000 m, but moraines are identified to elevations of c. 3,200 m and lower. Active rock glaciers extend down to 3,350 m and have a more southern aspect than both inactive and fossil rock glaciers. Third, a temporal analysis of glacier and rock glacier flow in recent decades has been performed using a time series of remote sensing images. The average velocity of glacier flow of the debris-covered Vallecitos glacier is about 5.9 m/yr for the period 2006–2020. The mean velocity of the active part of two large rock glaciers is approximately 0.23 (Franke rock glacier) and 0.74 m/yr (Stepanek rock glacier) for the period 1962–2017.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1641167</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1641167</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Evolution of glacial lakes and southernmost GLOFs in the Cordillera Darwin and Cloue Icefields (Tierra del Fuego) between 1945–2024]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-09-17T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Eñaut Izagirre</author><author>Gino Casassa</author><author>Inés Dussaillant</author><author>Evan S. Miles</author><author>Ryan Wilson</author><author>Camilo Rada</author><author>Sérgio H. Faria</author><author>Iñaki Antiguedad</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The rapid retreat of mountain glaciers due to climate change has led to the expansion of glacial lakes, which can produce sudden glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) due to the failure of unstable moraine or glacier dams, in some cases triggering a cascade of consequences. This study investigates the evolution of glacial lakes and the occurrence of GLOFs in the Cordillera Darwin and Cloue Icefields of Tierra del Fuego, southernmost South America, from 1945 to 2024 — a region that has not been analysed in detail before. Using historical aerial imagery, satellite data, UAV photogrammetry and field surveys, we document a 461% increase in the number of lakes (from 33 to 185) and a 124% increase in lake area (from 28.2 ± 5.6 to 63.3 ± 1.9 km2) as a result of glacier retreat. A pronounced shift from ice-dammed (71.6%–14.8% of the total area) to moraine-dammed lakes (80.5% by 2024) reflects the destabilisation of the ice margins and the exposure of overdeepened basins. We identified the first recorded southernmost GLOFs in this region, including a moraine collapse in 1997/98 that released ∼8.3 ± 1.2 × 106 m3 of water and a larger, adjacent cascading event in 2018 that released 28.3 × 106 m3 of water through successive moraine dam breaches. The cyclic outflows of the ice-dammed Lago Mateo Martinic (1985–2024) underline the dynamic interactions between ice and water. The results are consistent with global patterns of accelerated lake formation and growth over the last century, and with the diverse and complex processes at GLOFs that make Tierra del Fuego an important natural laboratory for studying the deglacierising environment. This study improves the understanding of glacial lake dynamics in the little-studied southern latitudes and emphasises the accelerated transformation of Andean cryospheric landscapes as warming progresses.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1664455</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1664455</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Correction: The socio-cultural implications of glacier retreat demand further attention: a case study from Cerro El Plomo in Santiago, Chile]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-09-02T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Correction</category>
        <author>Kate Altemus Cullen</author><author>Álvaro Ayala</author><author>Millie Spencer</author>
        <description></description>
      </item>
      </channel>
    </rss>