Flying low over some of the most dramatic landscapes on the planet, a cadre of scientists and pilots have been measuring changes in Alaskan glaciers as part of NASA’s Operation IceBridge for almost a decade. The team has seen significant change in ice extent and thickness over that time. Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight […]
Life exists everywhere you look. Even on glacier ice, home to inch-long worms, snow fleas, bacteria and algae. When gathered by the millions on the ice, algae cells can help make the water they need to survive. Alaska scientists recently studied this living agent of glacier melt. “If you went to a place on a […]
Could an extra warm summer cause an earthquake in your backyard? Probably not… unless you live in Alaska. You probably know that friction in the earth’s crust causes earthquakes, but did you know that a little extra sunshine might increase your chances of experiencing an earthquake if you live where glaciers are present? That’s because […]
Glaciers and ice sheets move in unique and sometimes surprising patterns, as evidenced by a new capability that uses satellite images to map the speed of flowing ice in Greenland, Antarctica and mountain ranges around the world. With imagery and data from Landsat 8, a joint mission of NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, […]