ESA - Eduspace EN - Global Change - The dynamics of glaciers

Coastal change

Danube Delta change detection Oil spills

Deforestation

Bardia National Park Congo River Basin Kameng-Sonitpur Elephant Reserve Kilimanjaro Rondonia Shillong and Guwahati

Ice

Antarctica 2003 Climate change and glaciers Glacier analysis using radar imagery Glacial retreat in the Alps Glacier Ice Flow Monitoring of glaciers in the Himalayas Remote sensing of ice and snow

Urbanisation

Cairo City of Kathmandu Córdoba Himalayas Kathmandu Valley Lagos

Vegetation

Annapurna Conservation Area Lost in the Andes Ngorongoro Conservation Area Niger Inland Delta Vegetation in South America

Article Images

The dynamics of glaciers

Back to article

Scheme of ice flow from the accumulation to the ablation area

Download:

HI-RES JPEG (Size: 21 kb)

Scheme of ice flow from the accumulation to the ablation area. Snow that falls on the highest zones of a glacier has the longest and deepest travel path. It emerges again at the lowest point of the glacier tongue and is the oldest ice. Depending on the size and flow-speed of a glacier, the travel time of a snow and ice crystal from the accumulation area to the glacier tongue can take from tens to hundreds of years.

Credits: Andreas Kääb

Back to article

Download:

HI-RES GIF (Size: 191 kb)

ASTER satellite image of 29 May 2002 showing glaciers in the Himalayas, at the border between Bhutan and Tibet (see GoogleEarth file location 1.6). Although this area lies in the subtropics, the glaciers survive. Ice flow transports the ice masses that develop around the cold, snow-rich mountain peaks to the warmer valleys, where it compensates for the intense ice melt.

Credits: NASA/ GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and the US/Japan ASTER science team

Back to article

Animation of two ASTER satellite images of the glacier

Download:

HI-RES GIF (Size: 1457 kb)

Animation of two ASTER satellite images of the glacier in the ASTER image. The images are from spring and late autumn 2001. Do you see the glacier flow?

Credits: NASA/ GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and the US/Japan ASTER science team

Back to article

Download:

HI-RES GIF (Size: 356 kb)

Close-up of animation

Credits: NASA/ GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and the US/Japan ASTER science team

Glacier ice flow

Introduction

Background

Multitemporal image correlation

Exercises

Worksheet introduction Exercise 1: Correlation of repeated images (LEOWorks 3)

Eduspace - Software

LEOWorks 3

Eduspace - Download

ASTER.zip GoogleEarth file