The Perito Moreno Glacier, a 30 km long outlet of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in Argentina, has been considered unusually stable among Patagonian glaciers, exhibiting almost no retreat between 2000 and 2019. In this paper we present our findings of an acceleration in ice loss since 2019, with retreat exceeding 800 m in some areas and a 16-fold increase in thinning rates at the terminus, from 0.34 m yr⁻¹ (2000–2019) to 5.5 m yr⁻¹ (2019–2024). Using helicopter-borne radar surveys in March 2022 and bathymetric mapping of the proglacial lake, integrated with satellite-derived surface height and velocity data, we identify a prominent subglacial ridge beneath the glacier terminus that likely sustained its prior stability. Current thinning trends suggest imminent detachment from this ridge, which would trigger rapid multi-kilometre retreat into a deep basin, promoting further mass loss via calving.
The oceans around New Zealand are warming much faster than the global average, affecting the region’s climate. Mountain regions like the Southern Alps are particularly sensitive, as small shifts in temperature and precipitation strongly influence glaciers, ecosystems, and water supply. To isolate the role of ocean warming, this study uses an atmospheric model to simulate New Zealand’s climate for 2010–2020 under two sea surface temperature (SST) scenarios: observed warming and a cooler baseline (1981–2010 average). The comparison shows that warmer oceans made the atmosphere warmer and more humid, especially in autumn and summer. This most likely affected wind patterns and atmospheric moisture transport, leading to changes in precipitation across the South Island. In the high elevations of the Southern Alps, many effects are amplified, with stronger warming, reduced snowfall, and a greater dominance of rainfall.
A trip to the glacier is an opportunity to bring the algorithms to life. From the 4th to the 19th of July 2025, Danielle Gunders-Hunt (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, M3OCCA) and Valentin Marx (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, M3OCCA affiliated) were situated at the Jungfraujoch research station in Switzerland to collect radar measurements using custom-built radar systems.
This summer’s fieldwork took us to the Aletsch Glacier in Switzerland. We drove to Grindelwald on Thursday and met up with colleagues from RWTH Aachen and the University of Wuppertal, affiliated with the TRIPLE project. After an impressive gondola ride and train journey through the mountain, we arrived at the research station located at 3,454 m a.s.l.
Our brave mountain guide jumping into a crevasse, expecting us to save him.
The research station is home only to researchers and is managed by a couple who oversee the High Altitude Research Stations Jungfraujoch & Gornergrat. They showcased the fascinating equipment held permanently on the glacier, ranging from instruments measuring air constituents for climate change monitoring, to medical and biological experiments observing the influence of high altitude on organisms.
The next day we began with a guided tour led by a mountain guide to learn the basic rescue techniques and familiarize ourselves with the glacier terrain. Unstable weather in the first few days caused some delays, but we soon began carrying out our full set of measurements with the GPR sled.
Our goal was to evaluate our equipment in various walking formations to assess the efficiency of each imaging method. Different formations can leverage different algorithms to generate 2D or 3D images of the snow and firn layers, as well as crevasses hidden beneath the surface.
Both radar systems used during the campaign were developed in-house at the Institute of Microwaves and Photonics (LHFT), FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg. The first system was an impulse radar operating at a center frequency of 1.35 GHz. Impulse radar transmits short, broadband pulses and listens for echoes reflected from internal glacier boundaries—such as transitions between snow, firn, ice—or from embedded features like crevasses, air pockets or water inclusions. We then replaced the radar system with a frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar, ramping between 0.7 and 4.7 GHz. Unlike impulse radar, FMCW continuously emits a frequency-modulated signal and compares the transmitted and received waves to measure the time delay and amplitude of returning echoes. This method offers improved sensitivity and resolution, especially for fine structures near the surface.
Tracks we were walking to test out various reconstruction algorithms.The sled being dragged in a measurement scenario.
We are now looking forward to analyzing how each type of radar—together with its frequency and signal power—affects both the penetration depth and the resolution of subsurface glacial features.
The fieldwork was a rewarding collaborative experience. Working alongside the TRIPLE team, who were testing a hybrid radar and sonar based forefield reconnaissance system integrated into a melting probe, reaching 12 m beneath the surface, gave us valuable insights into subsurface structures which we hope to cross-validate with our radar results.
Valentin improvising resourceful ways of preparing Spätzle.
Beyond the scientific goals, sharing meals, challenges, and ideas made the high-altitude days both productive and memorable. Each evening, breathtaking sunsets from the Sphinx Observatory (3,570 m a.s.l.) reminded us how extraordinary our setting truly was—it felt like we were on top of the world!
This campaign wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Valentin Marx, Lukas Rechenberg, and Niklas Haberberger, as well as the remaining colleagues from the TRIPLE-FRS-2 project.
The M3OCCA project is generously funded by the Elitenetzwerk Bayern.
The Bavarian State Ministry of Science and Arts has approved a second phase of the International Doctorate Program “Measuring and Modelling Mountain Glaciers and Ice caps in a Changing Climate” (IDP M³OCCA) as part of the Elite Network of Bavaria (ENB). In the second phase, we will continue the close collaboration between FAU, the Technical University of Munich, the Microwave Institute of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen, and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences (BAdW).
The aim of the IDP is to develop innovative methods and technologies to quantify global glacier retreat more accurately over large areas and reduce existing uncertainties. Artificial intelligence techniques are used, for example, to analyze large-scale satellite data or to improve physics-based process models. In addition, the researchers are further developing pioneering technologies such as radar tomography and geophysical models to enable improved forecasts.
Starting in June 2026, nine doctoral students will be funded for four years by the ENB. In addition, the new funding includes a postdoctoral position to help graduates of the current funding phase transition into independent scientific work. M³OCCA is characterized by a high degree of internationality and interdisciplinarity and trains its young scientists in a structured support program in addition to their professional qualifications. In addition to the doctoral students funded by the ENB, doctoral students from other funding programs—such as various junior research groups—are explicitly allowed and encouraged to participate in the IDP in order to create a broader scientific and thematic basis and facilitate lively exchange.
A much-awaited winter 2025 Aletsch expedition was carried out to attain repeat glaciological and geophysical measurements at locations similar to the winter 2024 Aletsch campaign. An expedition aimed to detect changes in firn stratigraphy and firn density over two consecutive years under the influence of regional climatic changes. This was achieved by using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) profiling across the two main accumulation zones of the Aletsch glacier. The GPR-based common mid-point (CMP) method was used to gather indirect firn density measurements. This was complemented by the deep firn core (nearly 20 m) at the upper part of the Ewigschneefeld, a shorter firn core (approximately 8 m) at the lower part of the Ewigschneefeld, and two snow pits at Jungfraufirn and the Ewigschneefeld.
This expedition is part of the M3OCCA international doctoral program (IDP) project SP2.3. The campaign was a collaborative effort of Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Bern, Switzerland, BAdW, Munich, and FAU Erlangen, Germany.
We appreciate the efforts of the firn core team, Dr. Theo Jenk, Michelle Worek (PhD), and Samuel Marending from Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, PSI Bern, Switzerland, Dr. Christoph Mayer, Dr. Astrid Lambercht, and Akash Patil (PhD) from Department of Geodesy and Glaciology BAdW Munich, Germany, and Dr. Thorsten Seehaus and Dr. Alexander Groos from Institute of Geography FAU Erlangen, Germany.
The Cordillera Darwin Icefield (CDI) in Tierra del Fuego is one of the largest temperate ice bodies in the Southern Hemisphere. In this study, we simulate the climatic energy and mass balance of its glaciers (2000–2023), which are sensitive indicators of climatic changes in the Southern Hemisphere’s higher mid-latitudes. Year-round westerly winds cause strong climatic gradients across the mountain range, reflected in the energy and mass fluxes. Our results reveal a significant increase in surface melt (+0.18 m w.e. yr-1 per decade) over the past two decades. We also present the first estimate of dynamically controlled mass loss into adjacent fjords and lakes by frontal ablation, amounting to 1.44 ± 0.94 Gt yr-1 (26 % of the total CDI mass loss). Frontal losses are mainly channelized through few marine-terminating glaciers. While frontal ablation is important for predicting the fate of individual glaciers, for the CDI as a whole, atmospheric conditions exert the main control on the current glacier evolution.
We organized a one-day workshop on ‘How to give a good talk’.
The workshop covered various topics from Stage fright over Body Language to Humor in talks. The participants benefited a lot from the intensive feedback they received from their colleagues and the trainer.
Knowledge about permafrost distribution is critical for the assessment of rock mass stability. By installing rock surface temperature loggers we aim to create a model to explore the distribution of permafrost in the Ötztal Alps. Solar incoming radiation and air temperature are the main drivers of permafrost evolution. Therefore we picked diverse locations in height, aspect and slope for installing the loggers.
The field work took place on a wonderful sunny day on 6th of September 2023. We are happy that everything worked out as planned and we returned home from the mountains in a safe way with good new stories on our shoulders.
The study emphasizes the importance of understanding marine-terminating glacier dynamics in glacier projections. Deep learning methods can automate the extraction of calving front positions from satellite imagery, reducing manual effort. The “CaFFe” dataset, which includes annotated calving fronts in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, offers a standardized benchmark for evaluating deep learning techniques in this area. Researchers can use CaFFe to assess the performance of upcoming deep learning models and identify promising research directions. A leaderboard of models can be found at https://paperswithcode.com/sota/calving-front-delineation-in-synthetic.
This article discusses the importance of tracking changes in glacier calving front positions as a means of assessing glacier status. Remote sensing imagery is a valuable tool for this purpose, but manual monitoring for all global calving glaciers is impractical due to time constraints. The article introduces a novel framework called AMD-HookNet, designed for the segmentation of glacier calving fronts in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. AMD-HookNet enhances feature representation by leveraging an attention mechanism and interactions between low-resolution and high-resolution inputs. The experiments conducted on a benchmark dataset demonstrate that AMD-HookNet outperforms the current state of the art by achieving a mean distance error of 438 meters to the ground truth, confirming its effectiveness.
