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affected as the weather is getting more extreme in due course of time. Climate
change is affecting the whole of the globe as evidenced by the rise in global temperature by an average of 0.2 °C per decade during last 30 years (Hansen et al.
2006). Most of the warming has taken place during last four decades, with five of
the warmest years being recorded past 2010 (https://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/
news/20170118/). The impact of climate change is also observed in the oceans
which display a warming of 0.302° Fahrenheit in the upper 700 m of ocean (Levitus
et al. 2009). The effect of climate change is also observed by shrinking ice sheets
(Hyubrechts and de Wolde 1999; Vaughan et al. 2013; Weertman 1964), glacial
retreat (Clark et al. 2001; Raina 2009; Scherler et al. 2011; Swain 2018), decreased
snow cover (Derksen and Brown 2012), sea level rise (Church and White 2006),
declining Arctic sea ice (Polyak et al. 2010; Kwok and Rothrock 2009), increase in
extreme events (Kunkel et al. 2013), ocean acidification (Sabine et al. 2004) and
many other parameters. Glaciated regions of the world are most affected, by not
only the rise in the global temperature, but the acceleration with which it is happening. Melting glaciers and Polar ice sheets are seriously contributing to the unprecedented sea level rise.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) considers glaciers as the
best indicator of climate change, as they are sensitive to climatic variations as well
as their expansion and shrinkage is visible to the public (McCarthy et al. 2001). The
mountain and lowland permafrost are also sensitive to climate changes as the
ground–atmosphere interface and the subsurface ice respond to this process in longterm, but are not visible in nature to short-term durations (Osterkamp and
Romanovsky 1999; Harris et al. 2001; Murray et al. 2000). The cryosphere in the
Polar Regions is also affected by the rise in the surface temperature as evidenced by
an increase of 1 °C in the mean annual temperature from −11 °C to approximately
−10 °C (http://south.aari.nw.ru/data/data.asp?lang=0&station=1) in the Schirmacher
Oasis since 1961, that may have resulted due to an increased melting of snow, glacial, and Polar ice sheet (Huang et al. 2013). The impact of this temperature rise on
the health of Polar ice sheet is not studied in detail except for the Dakshin Gangotri
glacier snout (Swain 2019).
All type of glaciers, including Polar ice sheet, undergo different type of stress,
primarily due to the ice thickness of the glacier body and its movement over the
bedrock. The stress thus builds up has two components (i) Vertical stress component
and (ii) Longitudinal or Horizontal stress component (Fig. 1). Vertical stress component is guided more by the thickness of the ice mass apart from the gravitational
acceleration, whereas the longitudinal stress may be of compressional and extensional in nature and is more influenced by the slope and the bedrock condition over
which it moves.
The stress in the glacier body has a lot of role to play as these are the features
which are responsible for the number and the orientation of crevasses in a glacier
body. It is also observed in the form of calving of icebergs at the end cycle of glaciation process and is responsible for mass loss from the polar ice sheets and glaciers.
Calving rates can increase substantially in response to climate change processes
causing an increase in velocity and retreat of the glacier/ ice sheet margin that conA. K. Swain
affected as the weather is getting more extreme in due course of time. Climate
change is affecting the whole of the globe as evidenced by the rise in global temperature by an average of 0.2 °C per decade during last 30 years (Hansen et al.
2006). Most of the warming has taken place during last four decades, with five of
the warmest years being recorded past 2010 (https://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/
news/20170118/). The impact of climate change is also observed in the oceans
which display a warming of 0.302° Fahrenheit in the upper 700 m of ocean (Levitus
et al. 2009). The effect of climate change is also observed by shrinking ice sheets
(Hyubrechts and de Wolde 1999; Vaughan et al. 2013; Weertman 1964), glacial
retreat (Clark et al. 2001; Raina 2009; Scherler et al. 2011; Swain 2018), decreased
snow cover (Derksen and Brown 2012), sea level rise (Church and White 2006),
declining Arctic sea ice (Polyak et al. 2010; Kwok and Rothrock 2009), increase in
extreme events (Kunkel et al. 2013), ocean acidification (Sabine et al. 2004) and
many other parameters. Glaciated regions of the world are most affected, by not
only the rise in the global temperature, but the acceleration with which it is happening. Melting glaciers and Polar ice sheets are seriously contributing to the unprecedented sea level rise.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) considers glaciers as the
best indicator of climate change, as they are sensitive to climatic variations as well
as their expansion and shrinkage is visible to the public (McCarthy et al. 2001). The
mountain and lowland permafrost are also sensitive to climate changes as the
ground–atmosphere interface and the subsurface ice respond to this process in longterm, but are not visible in nature to short-term durations (Osterkamp and
Romanovsky 1999; Harris et al. 2001; Murray et al. 2000). The cryosphere in the
Polar Regions is also affected by the rise in the surface temperature as evidenced by
an increase of 1 °C in the mean annual temperature from −11 °C to approximately
−10 °C (http://south.aari.nw.ru/data/data.asp?lang=0&station=1) in the Schirmacher
Oasis since 1961, that may have resulted due to an increased melting of snow, glacial, and Polar ice sheet (Huang et al. 2013). The impact of this temperature rise on
the health of Polar ice sheet is not studied in detail except for the Dakshin Gangotri
glacier snout (Swain 2019).
All type of glaciers, including Polar ice sheet, undergo different type of stress,
primarily due to the ice thickness of the glacier body and its movement over the
bedrock. The stress thus builds up has two components (i) Vertical stress component
and (ii) Longitudinal or Horizontal stress component (Fig. 1). Vertical stress component is guided more by the thickness of the ice mass apart from the gravitational
acceleration, whereas the longitudinal stress may be of compressional and extensional in nature and is more influenced by the slope and the bedrock condition over
which it moves.
The stress in the glacier body has a lot of role to play as these are the features
which are responsible for the number and the orientation of crevasses in a glacier
body. It is also observed in the form of calving of icebergs at the end cycle of glaciation process and is responsible for mass loss from the polar ice sheets and glaciers.
Calving rates can increase substantially in response to climate change processes
causing an increase in velocity and retreat of the glacier/ ice sheet margin that conA. K. Swain