The manual identification of ancient agricultural terraces is time-consuming and subjective, limiting large-scale archaeological landscape documentation. This study applies deep learning to detect ancient terraces in the Bozburun Peninsula, southwestern Turkey, a historically significant Hellenistic landscape. Four U-Net–based architectures were implemented—early, intermediate, and late fusion, along with an RGB-only baseline—integrating high-resolution aerial imagery (30 cm) and digital elevation models (DEMs) across 193 km2. Sixteen manually digitized areas (37.8 ha) produced 256 training patches (512 × 512 px). The early fusion model that combined spectral and topographic data achieved the best performance (IoU = 0.754; accuracy = 85.9%). Monte Carlo evaluation confirmed its robustness. Spatial analysis showed that 89.8% of detected terraces lie below 300 m elevation, mainly on 10°–20° slopes with north-northwest orientation, in agreement with previous archaeological observations. Compared with expert digitization, the model yielded higher precision (87.4% vs. 79.3%), while experts achieved higher recall (94.3% vs. 76.6%). Applied to the full peninsula, the model mapped 2,517 ha of terraces. Validation using an existing archaeological dataset (Demirciler 2014) enabled direct comparison between automated and expert-based interpretations. The results indicate the potential of deep learning for terrace detection in Mediterranean landscapes and outline a methodological framework for documenting threatened cultural heritage.

Seasonal glacier dynamics are key to predicting hazards and glacier stability due to short-term events as well as improving glacier models. However, the short-term ice velocity variations remain poorly constrained for slow-moving glaciers in the Himalaya due to the scarcity of in situ observations and limitations of satellite data and methods. We present seasonal velocity variations of Drang Drung Glacier (western Himalaya) in 2021 using Sentinel-1 phase-based Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar and offset tracking. Smoothed velocity estimates reveal $\sim$400 % seasonal variability (3–13 m a$^{-1}$), with speedups in spring and autumn and slowdowns in summer and winter. We relate these patterns to changes in radar backscatter and seasonal widening of the proglacial stream observed in Planet imagery. To interpret the mechanisms, we simulate the evolution with the Subglacial Hydrology and Kinetic Transient Interactions model coupled to the Ice-sheet and Sea-level System Model. Results indicate that speedup–slowdown cycles and their upglacier migration are driven by meltwater-induced shifts in subglacial drainage efficiency. This study emphasizes the role of hydrology and basal sliding in Himalayan glacier dynamics, often oversimplified in existing models.

This study analyses the dynamics of Southeast-1 and Southeast-2 glaciers on Devon Ice Cap (1959–2024) using multiple remote sensing datasets. Sharing a common tidewater terminus, the glaciers experienced two dynamic instabilities: an 8–9-year surge in the 1970s–80s advancing the terminus by up to ∼5 km and reaching velocities of >3000 m a−1, and a multiannual acceleration of Southeast-2 beginning in the mid-2000s, suggesting the start of a new surge within that basin. This instability progressed through stepwise increments each summer and propagated up-glacier, reaching velocities over an order of magnitude above quiescent levels. In 2020–23, Southeast-2 showed dynamic thickening of ∼1–5 m a−1 within the lower ∼7.5 km and thinning in the upper trunk (∼7.5–17 km from the terminus) of <−1 m a−1, indicating down-glacier mass transfer. Long-term terminus thinning and retreat increased surface slopes and driving stress, preconditioning the glacier for instability. Seasonal velocity patterns, crevasse expansion, strain rate evolution, and modelled runoff support a hydro-thermodynamic feedback, where meltwater increasingly accesses the bed and enhances basal motion. Southeast-1 remains quiescent but may destabilise similarly to the previous surge. The short surge cycle of Southeast-2 allows the first determination of a complete quiescent phase duration (∼36–37 years) in this region.

Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn) is an invasive species with significant ecological and economic impacts, making its detection and mapping critical for effective management. This study reviews remote sensing techniques for mapping P. aquilinum from 1996 to 2023. A total of 32 peer-reviewed articles were selected from Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus following the screening of 1,612 retrieved records. Bibliometric analysis, using VOSviewer software and Social Network Analysis (SNA), explored Keyword relationships, author collaborations, and institutional contributions. The research output shows fluctuations, publication gaps, and a resurgence in interest post 2021. Most studies (28%) were conducted in North America and Europe, with 26% originating from Africa. Key sensors identified include Landsat, Worldview-2, SPOT-5, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Recent advancements demonstrated the effectiveness of high-resolution optical sensors and machine-learning models in improving detection accuracy. However, challenges remain, including data limitations, methodological inconsistencies, and classification accuracy issues. This review emphasizes the need for higher-resolution imagery, advanced machine learning approaches, and standardized methodologies for improved P. aquilinum monitoring. Enhanced detection methods are crucial for effective ecological management, early intervention, and mitigating the spread of P. aquilinum.

This paper analyzes seasonal grounding line migration from a 4.5-year perspective and with a high (6 days) data-sampling rate. We used a series of high-resolution (60 m) Sentinel-1 double-difference interferograms obtained in the years 2017–21 to monitor variability in the grounding line position on the Orville Coast, on the western part of the Ronne Ice Shelf. We confirmed that the integration of the double-difference interferogram method with a neural network specifically trained on this type of data allows a successful detection of the grounding line position. Despite challenges related to maintaining the coherence and reducing data noise, we were able to generate and analyze time series of grounding line positions, test the assumption of maximum migration ranges and attempt pattern recognition in temporal grounding line migration. Our results represent a pioneering approach to seasonality and trend assessment in grounding line behavior. We believe that our findings can help detect the patterns of and the reasons for glacier behavior in the grounding zone. This information may be crucial in monitoring the mass loss of glaciers, especially in light of ongoing significant climate change.

Nordmannsjøkelen, mainland Europe’s northernmost glacier, has fragmented into small remnants, with only one unit showing signs of active ice flow. The glacier has lost 92% of its area since 1970 (September 2024 area relative to 1970 area). It is reduced from 23.5 km2, as an upper bound of its size in ∼1900, to 0.4 ± 0.08 km2 in September 2024. Between 1970 and 2020, the geodetic mass balance was −17.6 ± 1.79 m w.e., corresponding to an average annual mass balance of –0.35 ± 0.04 m w.e. a−1. The warm summer of 2024 took its toll on Nordmannsjøkelen and the glacier area was reduced by 1.08 ± 0.16 km2 from 2023 to 0.4 ± 0.08 km2 in 2024 (a 68% reduction relative to 2023 area). Similar glacier retreat and thinning are observed elsewhere in the region, and the neighboring Langfjordjøkelen has mass balance measurements for the period 1989–2024, and the highest mass loss is recorded in 2024.

Glacial lakes are increasing in number and size worldwide, posing growing risks for outburst floods. Norway’s last glacial lake inventory used semi-automatic mapping on Sentinel-2 imagery from 2018–19. In this study, we test a more automated and reproducible workflow for updating glacial lake extents in Norway using Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1 satellite imagery and a Random Forest classifier. Here, glacial lakes are defined as water bodies within 200 m of glaciers larger than 0.1 km2 with a minimum lake size of 400 m2. A 10th-percentile Sentinel-2 summer composite from 2023–24 mitigated snow and cloud cover, while Sentinel-1 ascending-descending difference composites reduced shadow misclassification without relying on DEMs. Validation across six glacier regions shows high detection reliability (F1-score: 0.81) as well as high delineation accuracy (median deviation <6.5 m). However, manual correction remains necessary, especially in steep terrain. We identified 1382 glacial lakes in 2023–24, covering 124 km2—a substantial increase relative to 2018–19. Excluding regulated lakes and adjusting for methodological differences, we estimate a 9–22% lake area increase over the past five years, mainly driven by glacier retreat. The workflow is efficient and reproducible, but regional threshold adaptation and retraining are required for transfer to other regions.

An alpine glacier below Sunlight Peak in northwest Wyoming was first photographically documented in 1893, near the end of the Little Ice Age and during the time of industrialization. Since then, evolving technologies have been applied to observe this glacier and nearby discontinuous permafrost for studies spanning Earth, environmental, and planetary sciences. Surveys in the 21st century indicate negative mass balance coinciding with rising average air temperature. This paper reviews the geological and geophysical data on record for the Sunlight Glacier system, presents new results from a 2023 fieldwork campaign combined with remote sensing analysis and comments on likely scenarios of future evolution for this individual body of ice within a broader alpine cryosphere feeding the watersheds of western North America.

Analysis of historic aerial photography has identified a possible monumental formal garden complex on the outskirts of Tabriz, Iran. Here, the authors describe this complex and explain why it is an important addition to our knowledge of elite Persian garden design practice that spread globally over time.

Monitoring snow distribution in alpine terrain is critical for hydrology, avalanche safety, and climate research, yet traditional surveys are costly, hazardous, and spatially sparse. We assess a gondola-mounted, low-cost Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) system (MOLISENS) for repeated snow monitoring in Real-Time Kinematics (RTK)-denied mountain environments. The system fuses lidar, Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), and standalone Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) using a Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) algorithm to generate 3D point clouds along a fixed aerial-lift transect at Hoher Sonnblick, Austria. Six winter runs (March 2023) were processed and compared with summer Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)-photogrammetry. Intra-system repeatability between same-day scans reached centimetre precision (weighted standard deviation 0.010 m; 95% within $\pm$0.006 m), supporting detection of daily to seasonal changes in snow thickness along the route. Absolute agreement with the UAS reference was limited to decimetre scale, primarily due to registration and standalone GNSS uncertainties rather than sensor range noise. Performance degraded over feature-poor snowfields, and manual segment merging was labor-intensive; consequently, quantitative analyses were restricted to well-constrained segments. Despite these limitations, the results demonstrate the feasibility of gondola-mounted lidar for cost-effective, repeatable snow-thickness mapping.

Strain rate and stress are widely regarded as crucial indicators for quantifying glacier dynamics on sub-monthly scales. However, existing frameworks for quality assessment of both strain rate and stress in fast-moving glaciers remain insufficient, hindering the application of rheological analysis to complex dynamic natural processes. To address this gap, we first extract and evaluate the surface velocity fields and their gradients from Sentinel-2A/B imagery using the Normalised Cross-Correlation (NCC) approach for Helheim Glacier, eastern Greenland. The results indicate that the minimum time threshold significantly affecting velocity gradients is 10 days for the Sentinel-2A/B missions, and that the threshold varies with season. We further develop a method based on error theory to enhance the retrieval accuracy of strain rate and stress at sub-monthly baselines, thereby supporting high-resolution dynamic research on Helheim Glacier. Our evaluations demonstrate the applicability of the NCC method to sub-monthly time scales and rapidly changing regions, thereby contributing to the quantification of glacier changes in a warming world.

Emperor penguins are highly reliant on stable fast ice for successful breeding, and some studies project possible quasi-extinction for most colonies by 2100 due to future sea-ice loss. To better understand the future response of emperor penguins to ocean-climate warming and the possibility of major changes to their habitat, it is essential to better understand how colonies have responded to past changes in ice conditions. In this study, we identify the historical locations of the SANAE, Astrid and Mertz colonies in all available Landsat 4–9, Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflections satellite (ASTER) and Sentinel-2 imagery for the period 1984–2024. We record the location and surface type of the colonies’ breeding locations each year while also recording major calving events, early fast-ice breakouts, distance to the fast-ice edge, and colony location span within a season. The results show that colonies usually return to approximately the same sites annually, but we observe variations due to major calving events. Following such events at Mertz (2010) and SANAE (2011), colonies relocate to different sites, where they may be more vulnerable to early fast-ice breakout or must travel longer distances to the fast-ice edge. In subsequent years, the colonies eventually return to sites close to their original location. Additionally, we observe early fast-ice breakouts that may impact breeding success at Mertz and SANAE colonies, including as early as September at Mertz (2016). Such breakouts coincide with both broader sea-ice lows and variations in colony location. Furthermore, all three colonies move onto the adjacent ice shelf in some years (and at Astrid and Mertz, also icebergs), including when stable fast ice is available, suggesting that this behaviour may be more common than previously thought. Observation of these behaviours contributes to broader understanding of emperor penguins’ adaptability and will aid future efforts to model the response of the species to ice loss.

Melting alpine ice threatens (pre)historic archaeological sites. Current trends suggest loss of ice will continue. Here, we present recent fluctuations in yearly minimum extent from 2017 to 2024 for three central Norwegian ice patches: Storhornet, Elghøa and Lågtangan. We discuss how melting ice affects their archaeological potential and introduce the term ghost patch to describe archaeological ice patch sites no longer containing ice. Future archaeological fieldwork prioritization must account for ice patch to ghost patch transitions. We suggest updated archaeological approaches for a future with less and less ice.

Glacial lakes in the Kashmir Himalaya have remained understudied despite their destructive potential for outburst floods. This study presents a comprehensive, manually delineated glacial lake inventory of 155 glacial lakes and a baseline for glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) hazard across the region. Lakes are characterized by type and assessed for long-term spatio-temporal dynamics using a multi-temporal Landsat series in a GIS environment from 1992 to 2024. The area of ice-contact proglacial lakes increased by 26% during the 32-year observation period. A multi-criteria analysis-based framework validated by historical GLOFs in the Himalayan region is employed to evaluate the lake outburst susceptibility. Key factors such as dam material, slope gradient, upstream cascades, seismic activity and permafrost occurrence, are integrated in the susceptibility framework. Potential outburst events from five lakes categorised as having very high GLOF susceptibility threaten several thousand buildings, 15 major bridges, roads and a hydroelectric power project. The study also highlights the potential for GLOF process chains in the region, where upstream lake outbursts could trigger secondary events downstream. The five most susceptible lakes identified here may require intensive monitoring and risk management initiatives to protect vulnerable downstream communities and infrastructure.

This conversation began as a roundtable at the 2023 joint meeting of the American Anthropological Association and the Canadian Anthropology Society in Toronto. The roundtable was part of the Executive Program and was intended as a follow-up to Kisha Supernant’s keynote presentation, which was entitled ‘Truth before transition. Reimagining anthropology as restorative justice.’ Considering the sensitive nature of the topic, we responded to a selection of written questions from the audience rather than taking open questions. The discussion was webcast, then transcribed and redacted. This article includes a portion of the question period as well as a contextual introduction that was not part of the initial conversation.

Aerial lidar (light detection and ranging) has been hailed as a revolutionary technology in archaeological survey because it can map vast areas with high-precision and seemingly peer beneath forest cover. This excitement has led to a proliferation of lidar scans, including calls to map the entire land surface of earth. Highlighting how the growth of aerial lidar is tied to fast capitalism, this article seeks to temporarily pause the global rush for data collection/extraction by focusing on the ethical dilemmas of remotely scanning Indigenous homelands and heritage. Although lidar specialists must obtain federal permissions for their work, few engage with people directly in the path of their scans or descendant stakeholders. This oversight perpetuates colonial oppression by objectifying Indigenous descendants. To address Indigenous objectification, I argue that aerial lidar mapping should be preceded by a concerted, culturally sensitive effort to obtain informed consent from local and descendant groups. With the Mensabak Archaeological Project as a case study, I demonstrate how aerial lidar can become part of a collaborative, humanizing praxis.

Continued deglaciation in the Bolivian Andes threatens regional water security and may result in increased exposure to geohazards. We analyse high spatial resolution (∼3–5 m) satellite imagery to constrain annual glacier and glacial lake evolution across the Bolivian Andes between 2016 and 2022. The total glaciated area of the region decreased by 9.1%, from 316.6 ± 3.2 km2 to 287.8 ± 2.9 km2; a rate of loss of 4.8 km2 a−1. Concurrently, the number (total surface area) of glacial lakes increased by 2.6% (1.9%), from 704 (37.1 ± 0.7 km2) to 770 (37.8 ± 0.8 km2). A comprehensive glacial lake outburst flood susceptibility analysis was undertaken for the 2022 lake inventory, with eleven lakes identified as ‘high susceptibility’. Subglacial topographic analysis was undertaken to predict potential future sites for lake formation. We identified 55 such sites given continued deglaciation. The model was tested by applying it to areas where glaciers retreated between 2000 and 2022. Of the 22 potentially susceptible lakes which formed during this period, 14 (64%) did so in overdeepenings identified by the model. This is the first time that an inventory of potential future lake sites has been produced for the region.

This study presents the design and analysis of a dual linear polarized sinuous antenna (DLPSA) optimized for ultra-wideband applications, such as remote sensing of longitudinal metallic targets and microwave imaging systems. The capability of the sinuous antenna to generate dual linearly polarized radiation patterns makes it a strong candidate for these applications. A key design challenge lies in developing a practical feeding network that requires modifications to the antenna feed region. The proposed DLPSA antenna achieves unidirectional radiation patterns in the 2–5 GHz frequency band. A prototype was fabricated, with measured results closely aligned with the simulations. The antenna demonstrates enhanced return loss, gain, and radiation pattern performance compared to existing designs. Additionally, the dual linear polarization capability was verified through co- and cross-polarization measurements conducted in an anechoic chamber.

Tropical Andean glaciers provide an important flux of freshwater to communities living both in high-altitude Cordillera and population centres downstream in countries such as Peru and Bolivia. Glacier recession threatens the sustainability of these water resources, and accurate modelling of future glacier behaviour is required to manage water stress in the region. These models must capture all processes contributing significantly to overall glacier mass budgets. Here we examine supraglacial pond and ice cliff development on three clean-ice glaciers in the Cordillera Vilcanota, Peru and their overall contribution to glacier mass balance. Whilst such features are common and well-studied on debris-covered glaciers, their development on debris-free glaciers has not been examined in detail. We use high-resolution contemporary and historical satellite imagery and repeat drone surveys to examine surface structure and geometry change over three glaciers during 1977–2024. We show how cliff and pond formation is driven by aspect-dependent surface melt of crevasse walls. These features act as ice loss hotspots, which enhance glacier net mass loss by ∼10% despite accounting for <5% glacier surface area. Incorporation of such amplified ice loss processes should be a priority for glacier model advances to achieve more accurate projections of future tropical glacier recession.