Cryosphere

The rapid evolution of the climate poses a major challenge for understanding ice dynamics, both in the Arctic and in the Alps. While an ice-free Arctic in summer was previously projected around 2100, recent projections (Kim et al., 2023) suggest this could occur between 2030 and 2050, regardless of emission scenarios, raising significant climatic, ecological, and geopolitical concerns.

In the Alps, warming is driving accelerated transformation of glaciers, with emerging risks such as the formation of unstable glacial lakes, moraine collapses, and destabilization of permafrost slopes.

ISTerre développe des approches innovantes pour la surveillance de ces processus, combinant sismologie (bruit de fond, micro-sismicité), imagerie radar (au sol ou par drone), et techniques d’analyse vibratoire.

ISTerre is developing innovative approaches for monitoring these processes, combining seismology (background noise, microseismicity), radar imaging (ground-based or drone-mounted), and vibration analysis techniques.

This research is applied to several emblematic sites in the Arctic (Svalbard, Saint Lawrence coastal ice – Canada, Lincoln Sea – Arctic) and in the Alps (Tête Rousse, Argentière, Taconnaz, Cosmiques, Bellecôte, Bonne Pierre).

• Icewaveguide Expedition in Svalbard: Listening to the Whispers of the Arctic Sea Ice
  
  
• Documentary Le requiemen de la banquise

Watch the full documentary here