Process understanding is crucial in assessing the sensitivity of glacier systems to changing climate. Comprehensive glacier monitoring provides the base for large-scale glacier distribution and change assessment. Glaciers are observed on different spatio-temporal scales, from extensive seasonal mass-balance studies at individual glaciers to decadal assessments of glacier mass changes and repeat inventories at the scale of entire mountain ranges. Internationally coordinated glacier monitoring combines in-situ measurement with remotely sensed data and local process understanding with global coverage. We invite contributions from various disciplines, from tropical to polar glaciers, addressing both in-situ and remotely sensed monitoring of past and current glacier distribution and changes, as well as related uncertainty assessments.
In the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation 2025, this session shall have a particular focus on (i) the achievements of long-term glacier monitoring from in-situ and remotely sensed observations, (ii) the intercomparison of results from different observation methods, and (iii) the advance of glacier inventories towards change assessments at regional to global scale.