This year's UN World Water Day on March 22, accompanied by the first UN World Day for Glaciers on March 21, focuses on the vital role of glaciers as freshwater reservoirs for functioning and healthy ecosystems. However, glaciers are melting faster than ever before. This is making the global water cycle increasingly unpredictable - with far-reaching consequences for countless communities and ecosystems.

As part of its Excellence Strategy, TU Dresden is researching the effects of climate change on water extremes in order to better understand their causes and develop countermeasures in a targeted manner.

One example is the AI4Glaciers project: with the help of artificial intelligence, an innovative monitoring system is being developed that provides new insights into glacier dynamics and can predict processes that are difficult to record - a decisive step towards better understanding the consequences of global warming.

Scientists at TU Dresden are also researching the changes in the ice masses directly on site: on board the research vessel Polarstern, they are using geodetic methods and satellite data to investigate how the Antarctic ice is changing under the influence of climate change. In future, this important research will be further strengthened by the construction of the new Polarstern II, which will provide state-of-the-art technologies for polar research.

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Research in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering:

4D Real-Time Multi-Sensor Monitoring for prediction of glacial calving

Deep learning application reveals new insights into the dynamics of Greenland outlet glaciers

En route to Antarctica on board the Polarstern

More about Antarctic research at TU Dresden: 

How much ice is the Antarctic losing?