IACS: past, present, and future of the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences

Ian Allison,Andrew Mackintosh,Samuel U Nussbaumer,Georg Kaser,Charles Fierz,Regine Hock

doi:10.5194/hgss-10-97-2019

Abstract

Abstract. The International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS) became the eighth and most recent association of IUGG at the general assembly in Perugia, Italy, in July 2007. IACS was launched in recognition of the importance of the cryosphere within the Earth system, particularly at a time of significant global change. It was the first new association of the union to be formed in over 80 years and IACS celebrated its 10th anniversary only a year before the IUGG centennial. The forbearers of IACS, however, stretch back even further than IUGG, starting with the formation of the Commission Internationale des Glaciers (CIG) by the International Geological Congress in 1894. Here we record the history of the transition from CIG to IACS, the scientific objectives that drove activities and changes, and some of the key events and individuals involved.

Highlights

The cryosphere is an integral part of the Earth system with important linkages and feedbacks generated through its influence on surface energy and moisture fluxes, clouds, precipitation, hydrology, and atmospheric and oceanic circulation
It plays a significant role in global climate, in climate model response to global change and as an indicator of change in the climate system (e.g. Allison et al, 2001)
Mark Meier, during a 1994 keynote speech on the centenary of the formation of Commission Internationale des Glaciers (CIG), emphasized that a primary focus on hydrology was contrary to the role that snow and ice play in the dynamics of the atmosphere, the surface of the land, the oceans, the solid Earth itself and the biosphere (Jones, 2008)

Summary

Introduction: what is cryospheric science?

The term “cryosphere” traces its origins to the Greek word kryos, meaning frost or icy cold. A major function of ICSI throughout this period was organization of snow- and ice-related symposia within the 4yearly IUGG general assemblies, and to publish the proceedings of those in the IASH Red Book series, commencing with the 1936 Edinburgh joint Snow and Ice Symposium (No 23, 1939) (http://www.cryosphericsciences.org/ publications.html, last access: 12 December 2018). Mark Meier, during a 1994 keynote speech on the centenary of the formation of CIG, emphasized that a primary focus on hydrology was contrary to the role that snow and ice play in the dynamics of the atmosphere, the surface of the land, the oceans, the solid Earth itself and the biosphere (Jones, 2008) Throughout this period, key advances were made in small Working Groups (WGs) that were commissioned and supported by ICSI. In 1995, Liz Morris (Box 7), became the first woman president of ICSI, and the first person to serve two terms in this position (1995–2001)

From ICSI via UCCS to IACS

Findings

Future directions