Friday, May 18, 2012

Retreat of Columbia Glacier From Satellite

These two false-color thermal images taken by NASA satellites depict the rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier in Alaska over the past 25 years. The top image shows the glacier’s terminus just north of Heather Island in 1986. By 2011, the terminus had retreated 12 miles up the inlet, and is identifiable in the bottom image, just below the “Main Branch” label, where the striped glacier surface meets the inlet. The blue in the water below the 2011 terminus is floating ice that has calved off the leading edge of the Columbia Glacier. (NASA Earth Observatory)

No comments:

Post a Comment