{"id":7915,"date":"2012-03-30T12:24:19","date_gmt":"2012-03-30T17:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=7915"},"modified":"2012-03-30T14:35:05","modified_gmt":"2012-03-30T19:35:05","slug":"snapshots-of-the-devolution-of-west-antarcticas-glaciers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/30\/snapshots-of-the-devolution-of-west-antarcticas-glaciers\/","title":{"rendered":"Snapshots of the Devolution of West Antarctica\u2019s Glaciers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-7915 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/30\/snapshots-of-the-devolution-of-west-antarcticas-glaciers\/nasa1\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Nasa1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-7923\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Nasa1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Nasa1-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Nasa1-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-7923'>\n\t\t\t\tA NASA image of Pine Island Bay along West Antarctic\u2019s Walgreen Coast. The bay deposits into the Amundsen Sea, which is absorbing a significant amount of slipped glacier ice. Although most of the surface of this ice shelf appears smooth, the presence of several ice cracks suggest that several fragments will break off and form icebergs in coming summers.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/30\/snapshots-of-the-devolution-of-west-antarcticas-glaciers\/satellite-view-iceberg\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Satellite-view-iceberg-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-7924\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Satellite-view-iceberg-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Satellite-view-iceberg-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Satellite-view-iceberg-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-7924'>\n\t\t\t\tSatellite image of Iceberg B-15, the largest recorded iceberg. It once had an area of 3,100 square kilometers, which made it larger than the island of Jamaica.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/30\/snapshots-of-the-devolution-of-west-antarcticas-glaciers\/ice-bridge-antarctic-sea-ice-2\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Ice-Bridge-Antarctic-Sea-Ice-2-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-7920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Ice-Bridge-Antarctic-Sea-Ice-2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Ice-Bridge-Antarctic-Sea-Ice-2-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Ice-Bridge-Antarctic-Sea-Ice-2-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-7920'>\n\t\t\t\tAn iceberg drifting on the Amundsen Sea in West Antarctica.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/30\/snapshots-of-the-devolution-of-west-antarcticas-glaciers\/ice-bridge-antarctic-sea-ice\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Ice-Bridge-Antarctic-Sea-Ice-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-7921\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Ice-Bridge-Antarctic-Sea-Ice-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Ice-Bridge-Antarctic-Sea-Ice-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Ice-Bridge-Antarctic-Sea-Ice-60x60.png 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-7921'>\n\t\t\t\tPhotos taken as part of NASA\u2019s 2009 mission to study Antarctic ice sheets, sea ice, and ice shelves. This photo was taken at an elevation of 2,000 feet above the Bellingshausen Sea in West Antarctica.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/30\/snapshots-of-the-devolution-of-west-antarcticas-glaciers\/more-ice\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/more-ice-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-7922\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/more-ice-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/more-ice-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/more-ice-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-7922'>\n\t\t\t\tThese pieces of floating ice broke off from a fjord in Marguerite Bay, on the west side of the Antarctic peninsula.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/30\/snapshots-of-the-devolution-of-west-antarcticas-glaciers\/the-fast-ice-of-antarctica\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/The-Fast-Ice-of-Antarctica-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-7926\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/The-Fast-Ice-of-Antarctica-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/The-Fast-Ice-of-Antarctica-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/The-Fast-Ice-of-Antarctica-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-7926'>\n\t\t\t\tFloating ice on the west coast of the Antarctica Peninsula, just north of the Antarctic circle.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/30\/snapshots-of-the-devolution-of-west-antarcticas-glaciers\/ch\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/CH-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-7918\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/CH-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/CH-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/CH-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-7918'>\n\t\t\t\tAircraft-induced hole observed at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Camp, Antarctica.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/30\/snapshots-of-the-devolution-of-west-antarcticas-glaciers\/antarctic-cloud-hole\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Antarctic-Cloud-Hole-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-7917\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Antarctic-Cloud-Hole-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Antarctic-Cloud-Hole-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Antarctic-Cloud-Hole-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-7917'>\n\t\t\t\tIce sheets floating on the Grandidier Channel on the western coast of the Antarctic peninsula.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/30\/snapshots-of-the-devolution-of-west-antarcticas-glaciers\/secrets-of-the-ice-age\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Secrets-of-the-Ice-Age-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-7925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Secrets-of-the-Ice-Age-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Secrets-of-the-Ice-Age-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Secrets-of-the-Ice-Age-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-7925'>\n\t\t\t\tAn image of a polar ice cap at Lake IJsselmeer near Amsterdam. \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/30\/snapshots-of-the-devolution-of-west-antarcticas-glaciers\/driving-to-nowhere\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Driving-to-Nowhere-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-7919\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Driving-to-Nowhere-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Driving-to-Nowhere-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/03\/Driving-to-Nowhere-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-7919'>\n\t\t\t\tTruck tracks imprinted on a West Antarctic ice sheet.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>A report published in this month\u2019s<em>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.igsoc.org\/journal\/\">Journal of Glaciology<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>traces\u00a0the evolution of West Antarctica\u2019s glaciers. The study, produced by the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ig.utexas.edu\/\">University of Texas at Austin\u2019s Institute for Geophysics (UTIG)<\/a>, reveals that parts of West Antarctica\u2019s floating ice fleet are slowly but surely breaking apart and sliding into surrounding sea waters.<\/p>\n<p>The team&#8217;s conclusions reflect data taken from nearly 40 years of satellite imagery. \u201cAnyone can examine this region in<a href=\"http:\/\/www.google.com\/earth\/index.html\">\u00a0Google Earth<\/a>\u00a0and see a snapshot of the same satellite data we used,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jsg.utexas.edu\/researcher\/joseph_macgregor\">Joseph MacGregor<\/a>, a research scientist associate and lead author of the study, said in a release accompanying the study.<\/p>\n<p>The greatest source of concern is a disintegrating ice shelf in West Antarctica\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Amundsen_Sea\">Amundsen Sea Embayment<\/a>, which saw the highest rate of ice loss from 1972 to 2011. Researchers are particularly worried about the state of the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Thwaites_Glacier\">Thwaites<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pine_Island_Glacier\">Pine Island<\/a> Glaciers, which thinned considerable over the past ten years. Evidence of existing fractures in remaining ice shelves suggest that the pattern will continue in the future.<\/p>\n<p>See for yourself in the slideshow of photos above (collected by StateImpact Texas intern Filipa Rodrigues) which contains several satellite and up-close images of West Antarctica&#8217;s glacier population. Combined, they illustrate just how majestic, vast, and vulnerable these glaciers really are.<\/p>\n<h5>Yana Skorobogatov is an intern with StateImpact Texas.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A report published in this month\u2019s\u00a0Journal of Glaciology\u00a0traces\u00a0the evolution of West Antarctica\u2019s glaciers. The study, produced by the\u00a0University of Texas at Austin\u2019s Institute for Geophysics (UTIG), reveals that parts of West Antarctica\u2019s floating ice fleet are slowly but surely breaking apart and sliding into surrounding sea waters. The team&#8217;s conclusions reflect data taken from nearly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":7921,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[58],"tags":[70,85],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7915"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}