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Surging glaciers are glaciers that experience rapidly accelerated glacier flow over a comparatively short period of time. Though relatively rare worldwide, Alaska is home to the largest number of surge-type glaciers globally. However, their impact on the broader socioecological system in the state is both poorly understood and under-researched, which poses a challenge in developing appropriate sustainability decisions in Alaska. We investigated how the surge patterns of the Bering Glacier in Alaska have potentially devastating effects on the local ecological biodiversity of its watershed via a structured decision-making analysis of the different possible consequences. Specifically, this analysis was conducted to explore the various outcomes of a Bering Glacier surge particularly if humans have an increased presence near the glacier due to the area potentially becoming a state park. This work explored the benefits of applying a risk and decision analytical framework in a cryosphere context, to better understand the socioeconomic impact of glacier surges. This is a novel approach in which a decision analysis tool was used to better understand an environmental sustainability challenge, offering an innovative method to support the achievement of the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals in Alaska. We therefore emphasise the need for integrated biophysical and socioeconomic analyses when it comes to understanding glacier hazards. Our research highlights the importance of understanding and researching biophysical changes as well as using a structured decision-making process for complicated hazard planning scenarios, exemplified via glaciated regions in Alaska, in order to create adaptation strategies that are sustainable and encompass the range of possible outcomes.

3C-SiC films have been grown on [100] n-doped Si substrates in a horizontal cold wall CVD reactor. Without the use of plasma enhancement, the precursors silane and propane are used to deposit silicon carbide films at T < 1200°C. The structure of the grown films has been investigated via FESEM, XRD and Raman spectroscopy. It has been found that the growth rates are between 200 and 300 nm/h. Additionally, structural analysis give evidence of polycrystalline phases. Reasons for that could be insufficient cracking of the precursors and homogenous nucleation of Si species in the gas phase.

With the start of the Corona pandemic, the Helios nursing schools faced many challenges. Face-to-face teaching had to be switched to digital, communication no longer took place on site but on channels such as Zoom, Skype or Teams. At the same time, the Helios central library licensed an interactive learning tool and made it available to the nursing schools. This paper describes the process of implementation, communication, support and collaboration around the platform in the midst of a time when contact restrictions became commonplace. It has become clear that the library can and must support the development of media and information literacy in nursing schools. Despite the high communication effort that continues, the Helios central library is much more present in the minds of all teachers and students. Thanks to the project, the library has established itself as a point of contact for the nursing schools., Mit dem Beginn der Corona-Pandemie standen die Helios Bildungszentren vor vielen Herausforderungen. Der Präsenzunterricht musste auf Digital umgestellt werden, die Kommunikation erfolgte nicht mehr vor Ort, sondern auf Kanälen wie Zoom, Skype oder Teams. Zeitgleich hat die Helios Zentralbibliothek (HZB) eine interaktive Lernplattform lizenziert und den Bildungszentren zur Verfügung gestellt. Dieser Beitrag beschreibt den Prozess von Einführung, Kommunikation, Support und Zusammenarbeit rund um die Plattform inmitten einer Zeit, in der Kontaktbeschränkungen zum Alltag wurden. Es hat sich gezeigt, dass die Bibliothek beim Ausbau der Medien- und Informationskompetenz in Bildungszentren unterstützen kann und muss. Trotz des hohen Kommunikationsaufwandes, der weiter fortbesteht, ist die HZB viel präsenter in den Köpfen aller Akteure. Die Bibliothek hat sich dank des Projektes als Anlaufstelle für die Bildungszentren etabliert.

The land ice contribution to global mean sea level rise has not yet been predicted1 using ice sheet and glacier models for the latest set of socio-economic scenarios, nor using coordinated exploration of uncertainties arising from the various computer models involved. Two recent international projects generated a large suite of projections using multiple models2-8, but primarily used previous-generation scenarios9 and climate models10, and could not fully explore known uncertainties. Here we estimate probability distributions for these projections under the new scenarios11,12 using statistical emulation of the ice sheet and glacier models. We find that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius would halve the land ice contribution to twenty-first-century sea level rise, relative to current emissions pledges. The median decreases from 25 to 13 centimetres sea level equivalent (SLE) by 2100, with glaciers responsible for half the sea level contribution. The projected Antarctic contribution does not show a clear response to the emissions scenario, owing to uncertainties in the competing processes of increasing ice loss and snowfall accumulation in a warming climate. However, under risk-averse (pessimistic) assumptions, Antarctic ice loss could be five times higher, increasing the median land ice contribution to 42 centimetres SLE under current policies and pledges, with the 95th percentile projection exceeding half a metre even under 1.5 degrees Celsius warming. This would severely limit the possibility of mitigating future coastal flooding. Given this large range (between 13 centimetres SLE using the main projections under 1.5 degrees Celsius warming and 42 centimetres SLE using risk-averse projections under current pledges), adaptation planning for twenty-first-century sea level rise must account for a factor-of-three uncertainty in the land ice contribution until climate policies and the Antarctic response are further constrained.