European Geosciences Union
Division on Cryospheric Sciences
President: Daniel Farinotti
(Emailcr@egu.eu)
Deputy President: Thomas Mölg
(Email)
ECS Representative: Aakriti Srivastava
(Emailecs-cr@egu.eu)
The cryosphere are those parts of the Earth and other planetary bodies that are subject to prolonged periods of temperatures below the freezing point of water. These include glaciers, frozen ground, sea ice, snow and ice. One of the main aims of the EGU Division on Cryospheric Sciences (CR) is to facilitate the exchange of information within the science community. It does so by organising series of sessions at the annual EGU General Assembly, and through the publishing of the open-access journal The Cryosphere. The division awards the Julia and Johannes Weertman medal for outstanding contributions to the science of the cryosphere.
A frozen lake can be more than a layer of ice. It can become a road, a fishing ground, a place of spiritual significance, or a window into a changing climate. From the ice-covered waters of the Northern Hemisphere to Patagonia, lake ice shapes ecosystems and influences communities. But as temperatures rise, lake ice is […]
The weathering crust of ice sheets or glaciers is a layer of porous ice, bordering on impermeable ice below and influencing the meltwater storage and production. This physically complex environment harbors a wide range of microorganisms that themselves affect the weathering crust and contribute to darkening of ice surfaces. The two factors – microbial community […]
Research cruises are a fundamental part of the cryospheric sciences. As the Arctic warms, the systems that shape our world look much different from one season to the next, making it more critical than ever to measure the changes of our icy world. Here, three early-career researchers share insights from a cruise they took part […]
Ice shelves, the floating margins of the Antarctic ice sheet, play an important role in the estimation of future sea-level rise. By their presence, they act as a brake on the flow from the grounded ice sheet to the ocean and therefore modulate how much of this ice is added to the ocean. As the atmosphere and ocean warm, melt is occurring at their surface and at their base, putting their existence under threat. In this context, the future of …
The 2026 Julia and Johannes Weertman Medal is awarded to Olaf Eisen for outstanding contributions to the application of geophysical methods to glaciers and ice sheets, and extensive professional service to the cryospheric community.
The 2026 Arne Richter Award for Outstanding Early Career Scientists is awarded to Kaitlin Naughten for pioneering modelling studies of Antarctic ice–ocean interactions and their implications for sea-level rise, as well as for outstanding leadership in polar climate science.
The 2025 Julia and Johannes Weertman Medal is awarded to Shin Sugiyama for outstanding work in the field of glacier dynamics and ice-water interactions, including seminal contributions to our understanding of lake-calving glaciers and ice-dammed lake outbursts.
The 2025 Outstanding Student and PhD candidate Presentation (OSPP) Award is awarded to Antoine Savard A new parameterization of dilation using GODAR
The 2025 Outstanding Student and PhD candidate Presentation (OSPP) Award is awarded to Katie Lowery Drivers of Ice Shelf Basal Melt on Pine Island Glacier: Ocean vs Geometry?
The 2025 Outstanding Student and PhD candidate Presentation (OSPP) Award is awarded to Leah Sophie Muhle Towards a new method for estimating englacial attenuation
The 2025 Arne Richter Award for Outstanding Early Career Scientists is awarded to Brice Noël for outstanding research in the field of the surface mass budget of ice caps and ice sheets, based on regional climate modelling.
In our September issue, we ask whether our accelerating technological advancement is still serving science (and scientists), and hear from the incoming Early Career Scientist rep for the Geosciences Instrumentation and Data Systems (GI) Division Luigi Bianco. Don't miss your chance to register for one of our autumn workshops the Outreach Committee is seeking a consultant to help develop a mentoring programme.
All this and much more, in this month's Loupe!