You are browsing the archive for chile glacier retreat Archives - From a Glacier's Perspective.
March 6, 2023
Snowcover Free Glaciers Generates Fragmenting in Central Andes, Chile
Snowcover free glaciers in the Central Andes in 2014 ad 2023 Landsat images. The ongoing fragmentation and retreat is evident at Point A-H, see closeup details below. The glacier as Point B has melted away, At Point G and H glacier tributaries have separated from the Norte Cipreses Glacier in the valley below. At Point D-F expanding bedrock areas amidst glacier driving further fragmentation. Glaciers at Point A and C …
February 26, 2023
Glacier O’Higgins, Chile Rapid Calving Retreat 2016-2023
Glacier O’Higgins in February 16, 2023 Sentinel image with the 2002, 2016 and 2019 terminus also indicated. Point D marks a detached lobe on of ice on the northern margin in 2023. Point F marks the southern margin terminus front. Glacier O’Higgins is a large outlet glacier of the Southern Patagonia Icefield (SPI) that terminates in Lago O’Higgins. Cassasa et al (1997) report that from 1896-1979 the glacier had retreated 13.8 …
February 10, 2023
Sollipulli Glacier, Chile Rapid Melt: Fire and Ice February 2023
Sollipulli Glacier, Chile snowcover loss during summer 2023 heat wave in false color Sentinel images from January 20-Feb. 9. Snowcover delcined from 94% to 12% in 20 days. Nevados de Sollipulli is a volcano, is in the central Andes of Chile near the border with Argentina in Parque Nacional Villarica, Chile. The 4 km wide summit caldera at ~2100 m is filled by a glacier. In 2022 the summer heat …
May 15, 2022
Sollipulli Volcano Glacier Recession Snow Cover Deficit
Landsat images of Sollipulli from 1986 and 2022. Point A-D are locations where the glacier spilled out of the caldera in 1986, but no longer does so in 2022. Nevados de Sollipulli is a volcano, is in the central Andes of Chile near the border with Argentina in Parque Nacional Villarica, Chile. The 4 km wide summit caldera at ~2100 m is filled by a glacier. The volcano is dormant …
April 14, 2022
Hornopirén Glaciers, Chile continue a Spectacular Retreat 1985-2022
Rio Blanco Glaciers in Hornopirén Naitonal Park, Chile in Landsat 5 and 9 images from 1985 and 2022. Red arrows indicate 1985 terminus position, yellow arrows 2022 terminus position. Point A is an emerging bedrock nunatak and Point B is where tributary separation has occurred. Hornopirén National Park is in the Los Lagos region of Chile. The park is host to a number of glaciers that are in rapid retreat. Davies and …
February 18, 2022
Palomo Glacier, Chile Snow Cover Loss in 2022 and Accelerating Retreat
Palomo Glacier, Chile in Landsat 5, 8 and 9 images illustrating retreat from 1987 position, red arrow, and expansion of bare rock areas amidst the glacier at Point A,B and C. Note lack of retained snowcover in 2022. Palomo Glacier is a large valley glacier in Central Andes of Chile. Adjacent to the Cortaderal Glacier and Universidad Glacier, it flows east from Volcan Paloma (4860 m) and drains into the …
January 31, 2022
Olivares Beta and Gamma Glaciers, Chile Bare of Snowcover in 2022
Olivares Beta (B) and Olivares Gamma (G) Glacier in Sentinel image from 1-23-2022, illustrating the lack of retained snowcover with 8 weeks left in the melt season. The yellow arrow marks proglacial lakes below each glacier. The red arrow an area of emerging bedrock on the upper Beta, X marks a location where the glaciers were joined in 1986 and now have separated. Olivares Beta and Olivares Gamma Glacier are …
January 17, 2022
Cortaderal Glacier, Chile 2022 Heat Wave Reduces Snow Cover, Retreat Continues
Cortaderal Glacier in Landsat images from 2014 and 2022. The glacier retreated 1400 m during this interval. The snowline in January 2014 is at 3750 m. On January 15, 2022 the snowline averages 4100 m with less than 15% snowcovered with 2.5 months left in the melt season. Red arrow is 2014 terminus and yellow arrow is 2022 terminus. Cortaderal Glacier is a large valley glacier in Central Andes of …
December 12, 2021
Steffen Glacier, Chile Drainage of Laguna de Los Tempanos
Laguna de los Tempanos full on February 9, 2021 and drained on December 6, 2021 in Sentinel 2 images. Point A marks the western margin when full. Point C marks the western margin when drained. Steffen Glacier is the south flowing glacier from the 4000 km2 Northern Patagonia Icefield (NPI). Several key research papers have reported on the spectacular retreat of this glacier in recent years. Glasser et al (2016) reported …
November 21, 2021
Bernardo Glacier, Chile Retreat Yields 15 km2 Lake Expansion 1986-2021
Bernardo Glacier in Landsat images from 1986 and 2021 illustrating retreat at the southern (S), middle (M) and northern (N) terminus respectively. Red arrows are 1986 terminus locations, yellow arrows are 2021 terminus locations. Separation from Tempano occurs at S, while lake expansion occurs at M and N. Bernardo Glacier is an outlet glacier on the west side of the Southern Patagonia Icefield (SPI) that currently ends in an expanding …
Dean of Academic Affairs at Nichols College and Professor of Environmental Science at Nichols College in Massachusetts since 1989. Glaciologist directing the North Cascade Glacier Climate Project since 1984. This project monitors the mass balance and behavior of more glaciers than any other in North America.