Swarm of tiny drones explores unknown environments
Researchers have presented a swarm of tiny drones that can explore unknown environments completely by themselves. This work forms a significant step in the field of swarm robotics.
Read moreSnow and Avalanches
Understanding local attitudes to snow leopards vital for their ongoing protection
Local people in the Nepal Himalayas value snow leopards as much for the potential personal benefits they gain from the animals' conservation as they do for the intrinsic value of this charismatic species.
Read moreSatellite data used to calculate snow depth in mountain ranges
Bioscience engineers have developed a method to measure the snow depth in all mountain ranges in the Northern Hemisphere using satellites. This technique makes it possible to study areas that cannot be accessed for local measurements, such as the Himalayas.
Read moreAntarctic ice cliffs may not contribute to sea-level rise as much as predicted
Researchers report that in order for a 90-meter ice cliff to collapse entirely, the ice shelves supporting the cliff would have to break apart extremely quickly, within a matter of hours — a rate of ice loss that has not been observed in the modern record.
Read moreLast year's extreme snowfall wiped out breeding of Arctic animals and plants
In 2018, vast amounts of snow were spread across most of the Arctic region and did not melt fully until late summer, if at all. Researchers documented the consequences of this extreme weather event at Zackenberg, Northeast Greenland by extensively monitoring all components of the local ecosystem for more than 20 years, allowing them to compare life in the extreme year of 2018 to other, more 'normal,' years.
Read moreWarm ocean water attacking edges of Antarctica's ice shelves
Upside-down 'rivers' of warm ocean water are eroding the fractured edges of thick, floating Antarctic ice shelves from below, helping to create conditions that lead to ice-shelf breakup and sea-level rise, according to a new study. The findings describe a new process important to the future of Antarctica's ice and the continent's contribution to rising seas. Models and forecasts do not yet account for the newly understood and troubling scenario, which is already underway.
Read moreDisappearing Peruvian glaciers
It is common knowledge that glaciers are melting in most areas across the globe. The speed at which tropical glaciers in the Peruvian Andes are retreating is particularly alarming, however. In the first detailed investigation of all Peruvian mountain ranges, a research team has ascertained a drastic reduction of almost 30 percent in the area covered by glaciers between 2000 and 2016.
Read moreDust in ice cores leads to new knowledge on the advancement of the ice before the ice age
Working with the ice core ReCap, drilled close to the coast in East Greenland, researchers wondered why the dust particles from the interglacial period — the warmer period of time between the ice ages — were several times bigger than the dust particles from the ice age. The research led to the invention of a method able to map the advancement of the glaciers in cold periods and the melting in warmer periods.
Read moreNorthern forests have lost crucial cold, snowy conditions
Winter conditions are changing more rapidly than any other season and researchers have found clear signs of a decline in frost days, snow covered days and other indicators of winter that could have lasting impacts on ecosystems, water supplies, the economy, tourism and human health.
Read moreThousands of meltwater lakes mapped on the east Antarctic ice sheet
The number of meltwater lakes on the surface of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is more significant than previously thought, according to new research.
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