Here is a factsheet on what is currently known about Birchgletscher, the Swiss glacier that catastrophically collapsed on 28 May 2025, following heavy debris loading from Kleines Nesthorn.
Our thoughts are with all those most deeply affected.
polybox.ethz.ch/index.php/s/...

Thanks Tanc!

Thanks to @chrisdclark.bsky.social, @jeremyely.bsky.social, Les Knight, Sarah Bradley and Adam Igneczi their collaboration with this. Les in particular has tirelessly been tromping around the country looking for erratics for years at this point!

We found the 2022 BRITICE model was able to recreate 77% of erratics, notably failing to recreate any of the Galway Granite erratics in Ireland with modelled erratics flowing to the west.

We developed a simple method of modelling erratic dispersal which prioritised the direction of ice flow over the entrainment and deposition of erratics. We used this to ask the simple question: Could the modelled ice sheet have recreated the observed erratic dispersal?

We looked at modelled ice flow from the last British and Irish Ice Sheet between 31 and 15 ka BP and compared this against observations of 1883 glacially transported boulders (erratics) from three geologically distinct source areas across England, Scotland and Ireland.

New paper presenting the potential sensitivity of erratic dispersals to changes in ice flow direction. We present evidence of a 1 km ice divide shift causing a 180 degree flip in dispersal direction, demonstrating potential as a test of model flow geometry.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

If your thinking of applying for this please do feel free to reach out to Niall or Myself for a chat about the project and the application process.

Too many for a quick count, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we had close to 100, but at least 50

Back to civilisation after another great field campaign to Hofsjökull with the DRUMICE project. We managed to collect over 100km of radar lines over the 2 and a half day weather window. Will put together this quick little video. Thanks to NERC UK-Iceland collaboration grant for making this happen!

Want to come and do a PhD in Palaeo Glaciology and numerical ice sheet modelling at Sheffield Hallam? @niallgandy.bsky.social, myself and Bob Jeffery are advertising a fully funded PhD Studentship. The closing date for applications: 17:00 (BST) on Thursday 17th April 2025. tinyurl.com/2ab5mdhf

Mer de Glace
2003 | 2022

From one major heatwave to the other!🔥
Not even 20 years...

Caption for history books:
'Rapid demise of the largest western Alps glacier during the early 21st century under the impact of increasing anthropogenic GHG from a greedy society'

🎥 @etienneberthier.bsky.social

We have a paper out today in @naturecomms.bsky.social on modelling the last glaciation of the European Alps, resulting in a substantial decrease in long-standing model-data misfits ! doi.org/10.1038/s414...

I thought I'd off here start with some fieldwork photos from the last year. Basecamp from the DRUMICE project in Iceland, and cosmo sampling in Greenland