Historical and Holocene glacier–climate variations: General concepts and overview

This is an article in the special issue "Historical and Holocene glacier - climate variations", which provides an overview of research activities concerning past to recent changes in the timing of glacier changes and their linkages to climate. The contributions are based on presentations from two glacier–climate–cryosphere sessions co-organized by the EU-funded GLOCHAMORE project (Global Change in Mountain Regions), PAGES, and the WGMS (World Glacier Monitoring Service) at the Open Science Conference on “Global Change in Mountain Regions” organized by the MRI (Mountain Research Initiative) and held from 2-6 October 2005 in Perth, Scotland, UK.