The surface mass balance (SMB) of polar ice sheets is vital to their overall mass gain or loss. However, evaluating SMB across Antarctica is extremely difficult because observations that can validate climate-model estimates are widely lacking. In this manuscript, the authors present a highly original approach to this problem: they use GPS observations to evaluate SMB models. Analysis of GPS data from sites across Antarctica is used to evaluate the variability in SMB from several atmospheric models. The findings are timely and important, especially as more SMB models are available at increasingly fine spatial resolution. Overall, the study contributes valuable insights into estimates of ice-sheet mass variability and its varying contribution to sea-level change.

By tracking post-fire tundra recovery up to 90 years using satellite radar across North America, this study reveals that while annual permafrost degradation stabilizes within 7–13 years, seasonal deformation and elevated soil moisture persist for roughly 50 years. This study moves beyond localized, single-site studies to establish a scalable, regional framework across diverse permafrost zones. Ultimately, these findings resolve a major spatial gap in permafrost research by proving that recovery timelines are strongly controlled by regional thermal regimes, providing crucial observational constraints for Earth system models and climate research.

This paper describes the rapid, recent decline of Glacier AX010, the glacier with the oldest observational mass balance record in the Nepal Himalayas. It also discusses the likely disappearance of the glacier within the next two decades, highlighting the ongoing importance of monitoring small glaciers in high mountain regions given their vulnerability to climate warming.

This study offers a rare natural experiment by comparing two adjacent glaciers South Greenland with shared upstream conditions but differing terminus environments: one terminating in a lake and the other in the ocean. The clear contrast in their dynamic behaviours, despite similar climate and input conditions, provides valuable insight into the role of terminus type in regulating glacier response. This has broader implications for predicting glacier change and sea-level contributions in a warming climate.

This manuscript provides an overview of a major Antarctic ice stream system, the Foundation-Patuxent-Academy, summarising its glaciological and hydrological properties and while offering a comprehensive overview of the extensive existing literature in the region. The review also outlines critical gaps in knowledge providing an ideal starting point for considerations of future work during the International Polar Year in 2032-33.