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amyswiggs.bsky.social
Amy Swiggs
@amyswiggs.bsky.social
340 followers 270 following 22 posts
PhD student researching sea ice from satellites🛰
Centre for Polar Observation & Modelling, Northumbria University
https://amy-swiggs.mystrikingly.com/
she/her

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amyswiggs.bsky.social
Amy Swiggs @amyswiggs.bsky.social · Dec 10
📣Thrilled to share that the first paper of my PhD has been published!

We use CryoSat-2 to map sea ice leads and floes in the notoriously-challenging Northwest Passage🛰️

🧵
ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/107...
Detecting Sea Ice Leads and Floes in the Northwest Passage Using CryoSat-2
Knowledge of sea ice lead and floe density is important for ship navigation, understanding ice pack dynamics, and mapping primary productivity. Furthermore, reliable lead and floe discrimination is es...
ieeexplore.ieee.org
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
treacherousbuzz.bsky.social
Our paper is out, providing alternative viewpoints to some polar geoengineering ideas covered in the media recently. Lots still to talk about but let's focus on decarbonising instead of drilling Antarctica for now? 🇦🇶
Thanks @newscientist.com @mjflepage.bsky.social for covering this important issue!
September 9, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
commonseac.parliament.uk
"It is impossible to overstate how critical this region is to our shared future." - @tobyperkinsmp.bsky.social, Chair

Read our report on the UK and the Antarctic environment: publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cm...
Image of an Antarctic iceberg with white text on a green background reading: We've published a report on the uk and the Antarctic environment
June 9, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
jdkirkham.bsky.social
⏰ New study shows ambitious mitigation (1.5°C) saves 2X as much ice globally (53% left) than our current pathway, which will destroy >75% glacier ice once it fully adjusts to a warmer climate

Every fraction of °C counts!

+0.1°C warmer = 2% more glacier mass lost

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🌊🧪
May 29, 2025 at 6:12 PM
amyswiggs.bsky.social
Really nice to see this paper on first sea ice observations from the SWOT mission. Very promising results🛰️ agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
SWOT Observations Over Sea Ice: A First Look
Quasi-specular leads in surface water and ocean topography (SWOT) observations are associated with high radar backscatter and low heights, especially near nadir Correlations between two near-coin...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
May 15, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
heatherselley.bsky.social
"Thanks largely to Copernicus Sentinel-1, scientists have discovered that a glacier in Antarctica is rapidly siphoning ice from neighbouring flows – at a pace never before seen."

@esaearth.esa.int @esa.int

www.esa.int/Applications...
May 8, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
esa.int
🌍🛰️How cool is this⬇️

☂️Watch as our Biomass's antenna deploys in space!

Following liftoff, orbital injection acquisition of its first signal and satellite in-orbit checks, the successful deployment of Biomass’ mesh antenna reflector marks the final key step in the launch and early operations phase.
May 7, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
edhawkins.org
Potentially no updates to sea ice indices coming from the US for a while... this is horribly damaging to global climate science.

Yes, there are EU and Japanese alternatives to some of these, but multi-dataset inter-comparisons are a critical part of assessing reliability and confidence in the data.
zacklabe.com Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · May 6
This is horrible. I don't even know what to say. Some of our most key polar data.

"As a result, the level of services for affected products below will be reduced to Basic—meaning they will remain accessible but may not be actively maintained, updated, or fully supported."

nsidc.org/data/user-re...
Effective May 5, 2025, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) will decommission its snow and ice data products from the Coasts, Oceans, and Geophysics Science Division (COGS). As a result, the level of services for affected products below will be reduced to Basic—meaning they will remain accessible but may not be actively maintained, updated, or fully supported. This includes Sea Ice Index, Snow Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) Data Products, Glacier Photograph Collection, U.S. National Ice Center Arctic Sea Ice Charts and Climatologies in Gridded Format Gridded Monthly Sea Ice Extent and Concentration, 1850 Onward World Glacier Inventory. If you rely on these products in your work, research, education, or planning, we invite you to share your story at nsidc@nsidc.org. Your input can help us demonstrate the importance of these data sets and advocate for future support.
May 6, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
zacklabe.com
This is horrible. I don't even know what to say. Some of our most key polar data.

"As a result, the level of services for affected products below will be reduced to Basic—meaning they will remain accessible but may not be actively maintained, updated, or fully supported."

nsidc.org/data/user-re...
Effective May 5, 2025, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) will decommission its snow and ice data products from the Coasts, Oceans, and Geophysics Science Division (COGS). As a result, the level of services for affected products below will be reduced to Basic—meaning they will remain accessible but may not be actively maintained, updated, or fully supported. This includes Sea Ice Index, Snow Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) Data Products, Glacier Photograph Collection, U.S. National Ice Center Arctic Sea Ice Charts and Climatologies in Gridded Format Gridded Monthly Sea Ice Extent and Concentration, 1850 Onward World Glacier Inventory. If you rely on these products in your work, research, education, or planning, we invite you to share your story at nsidc@nsidc.org. Your input can help us demonstrate the importance of these data sets and advocate for future support.
May 6, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
oregonthedm.bsky.social
Biggest commitment to a 3 second joke I've ever seen
April 9, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
esa.int
#OTD 8 April 2010, launch of #Cryosat2, Europe's first mission dedicated to studying Earth’s ice ❄️ and water 💦

Still operational 15 years later! 👏

Happy launch anniversary #CryoSat2! 🎉

🔗 earth.esa.int/eogateway/su... @esaearth.esa.int
ESA's CryoSat mission provides data to determine the precise rate of change in the thickness of the polar ice sheets and floating sea ice. It is capable of detecting changes as little as 1 cm per year. The information from CryoSat is leading to a better understanding of how the volume of ice on Earth is changing and, in turn, a better appreciation of how ice and climate are linked.
April 8, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
ruthmottram.bsky.social
The paper I finalised this evening looks at sea ice + glacier melange around Greenland. The sea ice often reaches around a metre thick in NW Greenland. Wild to think that we once had that round Denmark.
We still occasionally get sea ice. But never that thick and only very rarely in a few spots.
Large plates of sea ice covered in soft snow that have separated and then the lead between them has refrozen in distinct channels. In the background mountains under a blue sunny sky.
March 4, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
huwiceandstuff.bsky.social
Stunning view of a #humpback #whale in the sunshine!
#BIOPOLE2 has been blessed with #wildlife encounters! @biopole.bsky.social @bas.ac.uk
March 3, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
davidho.bsky.social
Psst…You want to know about the NASA website that spells out your name in Landsat imagery. 🧪

landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/apps/YourNam...
A series of five satellite images showcasing diverse landscapes: an island with turquoise waters, a snowy terrain, mountainous regions with winding roads, colorful lakes, and a dry, arid area with circular features. More importantly, they spell out DAVID with their landscape images.
August 31, 2024 at 2:00 AM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
cpom-uk.bsky.social
"A critical lens into how, when, and why changes are occurring in the Arctic and Antarctic..."

EOCIS led by @nceoscience.bsky.social have published this blog on the EOCIS Land Ice and Sea Ice Datasets, by CPOM's Jennifer Maddalena, @amyswiggs.bsky.social and Kate Briggs 👇

eocis.org/2025/02/06/a...
February 18, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
cpom-uk.bsky.social
Today is the 10th UN International celebration of #WomenandGirlsinScienceDay.

To mark the day we've written this blog about some of our women scientists leading on, and taking part in, field campaigns across the #Arctic and #Antarctic.

cpom.org.uk/women-scient...
February 11, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
seaice.de
This is truly astonishing, especially considering that the last few years represent the so-called new #Arctic. 🌊⚒️🧪🥼❄️
Arctic sea ice extent shows a flatline below all other curves
February 10, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
huwiceandstuff.bsky.social
Today’s biggest visitor so far is a wandering albatross! #BIOPOLE2 @biopole.bsky.social
February 7, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
science.org
A new special issue of Science highlights research on Earth’s frozen places—from the Arctic to the Antarctic—and how it’s changing due to climate change and the geopolitical challenges this important work faces.

Learn more: https://scim.ag/4jPYRID
Climate change in the polar regions of our warming world is threatening to transform many of its features, such as this icy tableau in the Fish Islands off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. There is still much to learn about these places before we know better what those changes may be.
February 6, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
huwiceandstuff.bsky.social
My favourite #penguin video for #PenguinAwarenessDay!
January 20, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
krhendry.bsky.social
We had the first sunset at Rothera in weeks a few days back, meaning the evening/night light is perfect for stunning Antarctic photos! @bas.ac.uk
January 19, 2025 at 8:29 PM
amyswiggs.bsky.social
Had a particularly lovely walk at the weekend because of a friendly robin warming its feet on my shoes🐥

With all the cold weather recently this friendly guy was following us as our footsteps broke up some of the frosty top soil, & seemed to take a particular liking to my boots before flying off❄️
Small red chested robin resting on snow boots surrounded by a frosty path in the countryside Another view of the small red chested robin, this time landing on the shoes with one wing outstretched, again surrounded by frosty path in the countryside Woman crouched down with the robin resting on the outstretched shoe.
January 13, 2025 at 11:47 AM
amyswiggs.bsky.social
It was a pleasure discussing my recent paper with @jugglingdoctor.bsky.social❄️

We discuss how the narrow channels of the Arctic’s Northwest Passage make it the perfect home for hazardous sea ice, & despite the challenges for satellite observations here, CryoSat-2 can help 🛰️
jugglingdoctor.bsky.social Peter Bickerton @jugglingdoctor.bsky.social · Jan 13
Many books and documentaries detail the terror of getting stuck in the Northwest passage, where many ships met a frostbitten demise in search of a way through.

@amyswiggs.bsky.social did this cracking piece of research using CryoSat to help map its icy narrows! 🔭🧪🛰️

earth.esa.int/eogateway/su...
Two ships navigate icy arctic waters, with floating sea ice - cracked like an egg shell - stretching as far as the eye can see. The ship in the foreground is one of the Canadian Coast Guard, and is bright red. https://www.flickr.com/photos/usgeologicalsurvey/4371016246
January 13, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
esa.int
Hello @bsky.app, here's to looking into more #bluesky and beyond... 😉
Image of the Moon, on a background of the blackness of space, and foreground at right of Earth's atmosphere in shades of blue, taken by ESA astronaut André Kuipers from the ISS in 2012.
January 9, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Reposted by Amy Swiggs
dnthomas01.bsky.social
New #Arctic & #ClimateChange sea-ice paper
While thinner and less frequent ridges of Arctic sea ice will benefit industries such as shipping, these changes are likely to have profound impacts on the energy & mass balance & the ecosystem of the Arctic Ocean

open access www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Smoother sea ice with fewer pressure ridges in a more dynamic Arctic - Nature Climate Change
Pressure ridges, a characteristic feature of Arctic sea ice, play an important role in the ecosystem but pose challenges to shipping. Here the authors use aircraft measurements to document a decline i...
www.nature.com
January 7, 2025 at 7:33 AM