“Two massive icebergs drifted along the coast of East Antarctica in early March 2010. In mid-February 2010, the Rhode Island-sized Iceberg B-09B collided with the protruding Mertz Glacier Tongue along the George V Coast. The Mertz Glacier was already in the process of calving an iceberg when the arrival of the B-09B accelerated the process, leaving two icebergs the size of small states off this part of Antarctica’s coast.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.
During the “Snowball Earth” phase of our planet’s development, Sturtian glaciers covered the tropics and reached the Equator. Rock samples from Yukon Territory, Canada yield evidence of this prehistoric glaciation.
“The Shallow Radar instrument on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has detected widespread deposits of glacial ice in the mid-latitudes of Mars. The ice, up to 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) thick, is found adjacent to steep cliffs and hillsides, where rocky debris from slopes covers and protects the ice from sublimation into the atmosphere.” Quoted from the NASA press release.
Part of the Mertz Glacier and the B9B iceberg are now floating in the Antarctic, after the iceberg collided with the glacier in February and separated a chunk of it from the continent. How will these ice masses affect ocean circulation? National Geographic has before and after images of the iceberg collision, along with an illustration of ocean currents.
Ice shelves are retreating along the Antarctic Peninsula due to climate change. This could result in glacier retreat and sea-level rise if warming continues. In this podcast, USGS scientist Jane Ferrigno discusses the USGS project that is for the first time studying the entire Antarctic coastline in detail.
Glaciers in many areas are melting faster and some of them might have an accelerated melt rate caused by increased water temperatures in their associated Fjords.
“Within a 24-hour space, an area of sea ice larger than the state of Rhode Island broke away from the Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf and shattered into many smaller pieces. ” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.
The Extreme Ice Survey has stationed 26 cameras at 15 different glaciers worldwide and are collecting photographs hourly – as long as it is daylight. This will give them a video database of these environments and the changes that occur there.
To what extent are the Himalayan glaciers melting? Satellites are a crucial tool for monitoring and studying glacial changes. The ESA’s GlobGlacier project is recording data on around 20,000 of our planet’s glaciers, including the Baltoro Glacier in the Kashmir region, and the Gangotri Glacier of Garwhal Himalaya.
The Chacaltaya glacier in Bolivia used to be home to the highest altitude ski resort in the world, and supplied much-needed water to city reservoirs. The glacier has been gradually disappearing in the past decade, and finally melted completely in 2009. In this video, The New York Times visits Bolivia and interviews local residents.
The Cryosat-2 Earth Explorer satellite was recently transported to its launch area at Baikonur, Kazakhstan. It is being readied for departure, scheduled on February 25, when it will begin its trek to measure fluctuations in polar ice thickness.
The Central Intelligence Agency of the U.S. uses powerful satellite cameras to gather information. Some of their detailed images (such as images of polar ice) are being declassified and analyzed by scientists to study climate trends.
A layer of water facilitates the movement of Greenland’s glaciers over the bedrock. It appears that this underlying water is part of a “plumbing system” below the continent.
Discovery News has a press release featuring what they believe are the ten top science discoveries of this decade. Top of the list is… “Melting glaciers and how the discovery of the phenomenon revealed the world is warming faster than previously imagined.”
An interview with Vasilii Petrenko, who is working in Greenland where cores are being taken from the Greenland ice sheet. They are studying trapped air in the ice to learn about its composition – especially its CO2 content and the clues that it might provide about climate change.
Imja Lake has progressed from a few small meltwater ponds to a large lake with a precarious natural dam made of rock and ice. Valleys in this area have repeatedly been inundated when similar natural dams have failed.
“In this image, the wind is blowing from the snow-covered mountains to the Gulf of Alaska. The wind picked up fine sediment from the riverbank and carried it over the ocean. The pale brown plume of airborne dust contrasts sharply with the dark ocean beneath it.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.
“New ground measurements made by the West Antarctic GPS Network project, composed of researchers from The University of Texas at Austin, The Ohio State University, and The University of Memphis, suggest the rate of ice loss of the West Antarctic ice sheet has been slightly overestimated.” Quoted from The University of Texas at Austin press release.
NASA will be looking for changes in Antarctic ice using a DC-8 equipped with instruments that are capable of “seeing” through the ice and collecting information about its thickness and the presence of water.
A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that glaciers in the Himalayas are melting rapidly and could be gone by 2035. The loss of meltwater from these glaciers will be an enormous problem for agricultural economies downstream.
Researchers are monitoring the speed of Greenland’s Helheim Glacier and other glaciers using GPS receivers. They don’t move at a steady rate of speed but instead accelerate abruptly and slow down. These dynamics of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have not been entered into sea level rise calculations.
In addition to melting, some glaciers are losing ice because they are accelerating. Summer meltwater can fall into the glacier through cracks in its surface and that water then lubricates sliding at the base of the ice.
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