This dataset has been produced as part of the Theme 5 (Cryosphere and Polar Oceans) in the National Centre for Earth Observation which aims to use new EO data to quantify changes in the mass balance of the cryosphere and to develop new models to represent the relevant processes in coupled climate prediction models. This dataset holds timeseries of Greenland glacier calving front fluctuations as maps and backscatter intensity images for the period March-July 2011. The dataset consists of 38 SAR backscatter images acquired every 3 days between the 12th March and 1st July 2011 during the ERS-2 3-day campaign. The backscatter data were transformed to map coordinates using the GLAS/ICESat 1 km Laser Altimetry Digital Elevation Model of Greenland which is provided at Polar Stereographic grids (DiMarzio, J., Brenner, A., Schutz, R., Schuman, A. & Zwally, H.J. (2007): GLAS/ICESat 1 km laser altimetri digital elevation model of Greenland. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Centre. Digital media).

This dataset has been produced as part of the Theme 5 (Cryosphere and Polar Oceans) in the National Centre for Earth Observation which aims to use new EO data to quantify changes in the mass balance of the cryosphere and to develop new models to represent the relevant processes in coupled climate prediction models. This dataset holds timeseries of Greenland glacier velocity fluctuations as maps for the period March-July 2011. The 37 velocity maps were derived from SAR data acquired during the 2011 ERS-2 3-day campaign. The velocity maps are 3-day velocity averages and are given in meters per year (m/y) (magnitude values). The name of the velocity files provides the start and end date of each 3-day period. The velocity fields were transformed to map coordinates using the GLAS/ICESat 1 km Laser Altimetry Digital Elevation Model of Greenland which is provided at Polar Stereographic grids (DiMarzio, J., Brenner, A., Schutz, R., Schuman, A. & Zwally, H.J. (2007)): GLAS/ICESat 1 km laser altimetri digital elevation model of Greenland. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Centre. Digital media).

[This dataset is embargoed until June 30, 2026]. The dataset provides measurements of water temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), pH and turbidity from rivers in the Peruvian Andes. Data were collected from 23 river sites in the Cordillera Vilcanota (12 sites) and Cordillera Blanca (11 sites) regions from 11/09/2019 to 18/09/2019 (Cordillera Vilcanota) from 7/05/2020 to 16/05/2020 (Cordillera Blanca). Each variable was measured once at each river site. Sites were selected along a continuum of declining glacier cover to investigate the influence of glaciers on river habitats. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/34df941d-abb8-4171-9c9d-33202e5a2ea5

This dataset consists of long time series of subglacial water pressures, obtained from a pressure sensor installed in a borehole that connected to the basal drainage system of Kongsvegen, Svalbard. The glacier has been in a quiescent state since its last surge circa 1948, and has undergone a gradual acceleration during the last decade. The data series runs from 2018-10-19 to 2024-08-12. Data acquisition was funded by NERC Urgency Grant NE/R018243/1 REBUS (Resolving Enthalpy Budget to Understand Surges) and RCN Grant 301837 MAMMAMIA (Multi-scale, multi-method assessment of mechanisms for ice acceleration).

This dataset includes measured physicochemical variables in ten rivers of the glacial valleys of Parón, Huaytapallana and Llanganuco in the Cordillera Blanca, Ancash, Peru. The environmental variables measured in the rivers include pH, turbidity conductivity, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, dissolved organic carbon, dissolved inorganic carbon, metal ions and anions. Channel stability assessments using the Pfankuch index are also included. This data was used to analyse the physicochemical changes under glacial retreat, studying rivers in a gradient of glacial coverage, and relate it to the biodiversity of macroinvertebrates. The sampling work was carried out from October 14 to 30, 2019 and from October 7 to 16, 2020. The study was funded by NERC, Newton‐Paulet Fund and Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico, Tecnológico y de Innovación Tecnológica-Perú. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/3684da74-6c6d-4f25-867b-62b7b68175f6

This dataset comprises four distinct shapefiles, which were used to demonstrate how glacier ELA is affected by volcanic thermal conditions, in the Andes, South America. With the exception of '139_Remapped_Glaciers.shp', the shapefiles are obtained from existing, open access data from the Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI 6.0) and the Global Volcanism Program 2013, but with the addition of information, in the shapefile's attribute table, relevant to the study of the interaction between glaciers and volcanoes, as obtained via the GIS analysis of these datasets. The '600_RGI_Glaciers.shp' shapefile comprises 600 (land-terminating, no debris-covered, > 0.1 km2) glacier polygons, which are located within 15 km from a Holocene (erupted in the past 10,000 years) volcano in South America. Crucially, the equilibrium line altitude (i.e., the elevation on the glacier where the surface mass balance, measured over 1 yr, is zero) and distance to the nearest volcano for each glacier is reported in the attribute table. The '37_GVP_Volacanoes.shp' shapefile contains points for 37 South America Holocene volcanoes which have glaciers both within 1 km (volcanic-glaciers), and between 1 and 15 km (proximal glaciers). For each volcano, the difference in ELA between volcanic (<1km from volcano) and proximal (1-15 km) glaciers is reported in the attribute table, along with mean temperature and precipitation. The '139_Remapped_Glaciers.shp' shapefile provides detailed and updated (relative to RGI) mapping of glaciers (as polygons) that are located within 15 km from 13 South America Holocene volcanoes for which thermal anomaly is known. The ELA of these glaciers is calculated and reported in the attribute table. The '13_AVTOD_Volacanoes.shp' shapefile comprises the points for 13 Holocene volcanoes that have glaciers both within 1 km (volcanic-glaciers), and between 1 and 15 km (proximal glaciers) from their centre, as well as recorded thermal anomaly. The glacier ELA and volcano thermal data provided in the attribute table allows us to establish the quantitative relationship between volcanoes and glaciers. A detailed description of the study based on this dataset is provided in Howcutt et al. (2023). This project and data were supported by the NERC Global Partnerships Seedcorn fund (NE/W003724/1).

This dataset presents concentration of microplastics in snow from remote Antarctic camps: Union Glacier, Schanz Glacier and the South Pole. Refined automated FTIR techniques enabled interrogation of microplastics (including fibres) to a lower detection limit of 11 micrometers in Antarctic snow for the first time. Microplastics were pervasive (73 - 3099 MP L/1). The majority (95 percent) measured less than 50 micrometers, indicating that previous microplastic reports in Antarctica may be underestimated, due to analytical restrictions. Plastic polymer composition and concentration did not vary significantly between sites, with dominant polymers being polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE) and synthetic rubber. Results indicate that even in the earth's most remote regions, humans are leaving a plastic legacy in the snow, illustrating the importance of remote, cryospheric regions as critical study sites for determining temporal fluxes in microplastic pollution. Funding: All fieldwork was supported and financed by Airbnb.

This dataset contains the annual ice front position shapefiles of the Thwaites Glacier Ice Tongue between 2000 and 2018 as shown in the Miles et al. (2020) paper. Each shapefile was mapped manually from MODIS imagery in the March of each year. The dataset details the retreat of the ice tongue and transition from a tabular calving regime to a disintegration type calving. This work was funded by NERC grant NE/R000824/1.

This dataset represents model output from 4 simulations of Store Glacier produced using the Elmer/Ice glacier model equipped with novel 3D calving subroutines. As described in the paper associated with this dataset (Todd et al., JGR, 2018), the model is initialised with velocity observations and then forced with present day environmental forcing. The simulation covers a 5 year time period with no fixed dates. Funding was provided by the NERC grant NE/K500884/1.

This dataset consists of a bed DEM and four velocity maps of Kongsvegen, a surge-type glacier in Svalbard. The bed DEM was generated from ground-penetrating radar surveys in spring 2016 and 2018, and the velocity maps span the period Dec 2017 to Feb 2019. The velocity maps show the initial speed-up of the glacier as it transitions from quiescence to surge. Data acquisition was funded by NERC Urgency Grant NE/R018243/1 REBUS (Resolving Enthalpy Budget to Understand Surges).