Glaciers are rapidly shrinking, and nearly half of the world’s glaciers are expected to disappear by 2100. While technological interventions to slow ice melt are emerging, NOMIS researcher Tom Battin and fellow scientists argue that “these must incorporate the complexity of the icy biome that they aim to preserve.” In an article in Nature, they outline the interventions under consideration, how to measure their impact and the necessary regulatory guardrails that must be in place to save the world’s glaciers.
Projections indicate that nearly half of the world’s glaciers could vanish by 2100, even if the global temperature rise is limited to 1.5°C. In response to the crisis, the United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation. While cutting greenhouse-gas emissions remains crucial, it is no longer seen as sufficient on its own. Researchers are now exploring technological interventions. Yet glaciers are more than just ice — they support diverse microbial life that plays a vital role in ecological and chemical processes, such as pollutant storage and nutrient cycling.
In their Nature article, NOMIS researcher Tom Battin and fellow scientists examine some of the proposed glacier-preservation methods, which, without proper oversight, could have unintended environmental consequences. The authors “outline the types of intervention that are being seriously considered, how to assess their impact and the regulatory guard rails that are urgently required.”
Read the Nature publication: Glaciers are not just blocks of ice — plans to save them mustn’t overlook their hidden life
Feature image: A glacier in Ecuador studied by the Vanishing Glaciers project (Photo © EPFL/Vincent de Stark).
