Here at the UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling, we love spreading the word about our science, but also about the wider world of Earth Observation and modelling, satellites, net zero science and more. That’s why we regularly write blogs and articles about interesting research and findings, to raise awareness about the polar regions and the vital information being collected by satellites like ICESat-2 and CryoSat-2.

Whether you’re a scientist already working in the field, are thinking about studying science, or just love learning about space, satellites and the polar regions, there are a number of ways you can keep up to date with news and stories from CPOM:

Follow us on social media

We regular post our articles and repost interesting information from our colleagues in the field on our social media channels.

We are currently on the following platforms:

LinkedIn
Instagram
Threads
Bluesky
X (formerly Twitter)

We would love to hear from you, so do please comment on our posts if you have any questions you would like to ask about our science.

Join us at an event

We regularly attend a range of events, from scientific and academic conferences to family-friendly events, like the Festival of Tomorrow, where we had an activity stand at the end of February. We advertise these events on social media, but also here on our website, so do come along if you see one advertised in your area. We would love to meet you!

Get in touch directly!

We would love to hear from you! Get in touch with us if you would like to find out more about our work or think we could work together in the future.

Have you heard about the colossal A23a iceberg, currently grounded off the coast of the South Atlantic island of South Georgia?

This iceberg first broke away in 1986 and remained on a sandbank in the middle of the Weddell Sea for 35 years.

Scientists from the UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) monitor icebergs like A23a from space using satellites to better understand the impact of a warming climate on the cryosphere.

Recently, A23a has been making headlines as it drifts closer to South Georgia, raising concerns about its potential effects on shipping routes and local wildlife.

Over the weekend (14 – 15 March 2025), CPOM Director Professor Andrew Shepherd spoke to Sky News and Times Radio about this iceberg and the threats it poses to penguins, seals, and marine life that thrive in these coastal areas.

You can find his interview in Saturday’s Times Radio Breakfast programme (56 minutes in).

As we don’t get to see these icebergs up close very often, it is fantastic to see this video footage from Sky News, which helps show the true scale of this mega iceberg.

Image Credit: Professor Andrew Shepherd (taken in Antarctica).

This week, the Glacier Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise (GlaMBIE) has released a new report in Nature, assessing mass changes in the balance of the Earth’s glaciers from 2000 to 2023. The report shows that during this period, glaciers around the world have lost somewhere between 2% and 39% of their ice regionally and around 5% globally.

The team is co-led by Professor Michael Zemp (University of Zurich) and CPOM’s Associate Investigator: Ice Sheet Modelling and Satellite InSAR, Professor Noel Gourmelen (University of Edinburgh). It is coordinated by the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) at the University of Zurich, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh and Earthwave Ltd.

There are an estimated 200,000 glaciers across the Earth and so monitoring them all individually is very challenging. That is why satellite observations are so important as they enable scientists to produce robust and accurate assessments of how much ice glaciers contain, and how rapidly they are melting. This is crucial if we are to protect our planet from the effects of climate change and to prepare for a warmer planet in the future.

2025 is the UN’s International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, so never has there been a more pressing time to take notice of what’s happening in the cryosphere and strive to protect it.

You can read Professor Noel Gourmelen’s comments on GLaMBIE’s recent findings in this article from The Guardian, alongside comments from CPOM Director, Professor Andrew Shepherd.

The research is funded by the Science for Society element of ESA’s FutureEO programme, with additional support from the International Association for Cryospheric Sciences and various institutional partners

Before we had satellites, it was very difficult to assess and monitor the Earth’s ice. We only had data collected by scientists visiting the polar regions, and the areas we study are so vast it would be impossible to monitor them manually. However, since the launch of Earth Observation satellites like ESA’s ERS-1 and CryoSat missions, and NASA’s IceSat missions, our understanding of these complex regions has been transformed.

To mark the European Space Agency’s (ESA) 50th anniversary, they have created this brochure detailing 12 groundbreaking scientific discoveries that have been made possible thanks to the ESA Earth Observation programmes. One of the successes that ESA have highlighted is the Mass balance of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets as assessed by The IMBIE Team, led by CPOM.

IMBIE is an international collaboration of 100 polar scientists, supported by ESA and NASA, who are working to chart the sea level contribution of the polar ice sheets. In their latest assessment report (published in 2023), led by CPOM’s Inès Otosaka (Northumbria University), the team revealed that ice loss had accelerated during the 29-year record of satellite observations and that this accounted for a ‘significant’ increase in the global sea level.

ESA released this animation in 2023, based on the data from this report, showing Ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica. 

In December 2024, the Environmental Audit Committee revived their Sub-Committee on Polar Research’s inquiry into The UK and the Antarctic Environment, which had been launched the previous year under the former government.

This inquiry is exploring the impacts of climate change in Antarctica and the role that UK science can play in understanding these changes and protecting the region.

Parliamentary inquiries offer direct routes for academics to inform the government about relevant scientific findings, provide research-led advice and influence policy decisions. Having taken part in the original call for evidence, the UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) submitted a supplementary statement to summarise the information we provided in our initial written report and reiterate key advice. We highlighted, for example, that changes in the Antarctic will have global consequences for people and animals, that we will need to adapt to significant impacts from sea level rise in the coming years, and that the UK needs to commit to support for long-term international collaborations between modellers, climate scientists, and remote sensing specialists to ensure we are fully prepared for these changes.

We also added that, since the initial call, additional evidence of Antarctic sea ice decline has been observed, we highlighted the opportunity to improve observations through the United Nations Antarctica InSync programme, and also pointed to the requirement for governance of any future geoengineering schemes. You can read our report alongside other evidence on the Inquiry website: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8689/the-uk-and-the-antarctic-environment-revived/publications/

For more information, you can watch CPOM’s Dr Inès Otosaka giving evidence in person for the initial inquiry (alongside other experts) on Parliament TV: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/01ec3440-450c-42de-970a-e6b762836d19

CPOM PI Dr Sammie Buzzard (Northumbria University) is featured in stunning new Earth Defenders! planetarium production now showing at Life Science Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Sammie portrays a scientist in a televised documentary introducing Earth Defenders! which follows the action-packed stories of five superhero characters based on real satellites used for a range of earth-protecting purposes. One of the featured satellites is ESA’s CryoSat-2, which produces data CPOM uses to measure both sea ice and the polar ice sheets.

Earth Defenders! also includes asteroid detector NEOWISE, Biomass which observes forests, MetOp which increases the accuracy of weather predictions and global navigation satellite system, Galileo. These satellites have been brought to life by the talented team at the Life Science Centre to educate and inspire a younger audience on the power of earth observation.

Sammie, an expert on Ice Shelf Earth Observation said: As someone who uses satellites in their research into the Earth’s rapidly changing polar regions, I’m thrilled that Life are showing visitors how important satellites are and are making them accessible to a younger audience. At CPOM we’re especially excited to see our favourite satellite, CryoSat-2, brought to life!

The show, which is projected across the 360-degree domed Planetarium, provides a unique, immersive experience and is a must-see for children and adults alike who live in, or are visiting, the North East this summer.

• Earth Defenders! is part funded by the UK Space Agency as part of their Our World from Space programme.
• Earth Defenders! is included in a science centre ticket which gets you all exhibitions, shows and other activities. Find out more and buy tickets at https://www.life.org.uk/whats-on/event/earth-defenders-planetarium-show/

There are many routes into polar science from maths to geography and physics.

Our #CPOMOriginStories series of videos explores the different routes our scientists took to kick start their careers in glaciology and polar science.

In the first of the series we have been talking to CPOM’s PI for Sea Ice Earth Observation, Dr. Rosemary Willatt (Northumbria University) about how she first became interested in observing the cryosphere from space.

If you’re interested in finding more about polar observation and modelling, keep an eye on our website for new opportunities to get involved.

A new paper by The Firn Symposium Team, was published today in Nature Reviews Earth and Environment (23.1.24).

The paper explains what firn is, what affects it, and the future of firn, as well as discussing how research in this area is rapidly developing.

Firn is multi-year snow and ice which covers the earth’s two ice sheets, in Greenland and Antarctica. It has an important role to play in preventing meltwater running off into the ocean and protects ice shelves surrounding Antarctica from catastrophic collapse. This research paper discusses how extreme events and atmospheric patterns affect firn structure and how future climate scenarios may amplify this.

The Firn Symposium Team, consists of 35 co-authors from multiple countries including, Assistant Professor Dr Sammie Buzzard and Research Fellow Dr Athul Kaitheri (both CPOM members at Northumbria University).