The Southern Patagonian Ice FieldBack in the ice age, when northern Europe and America were groaning
The Southern Patagonian Ice FieldBack in the ice age, when northern Europe and America were groaning under the weight of miles thick ice sheets, other locations were also affected. The Alps and Himalayas are obvious examples, with their sharp peaks carved by the back and forth oscillations as the climate waxed and waned to the tune of the astronomical cues known as Milankovich cycles (see our piece on astronomical rocks athttp://tinyurl.com/kaq6nuf). Less well known is the Patagonian ice field, spanning both sides of the far southern Andes between Chile and Argentina, and responsible for such famous beauties as the Perito Moreno glacier (see http://tinyurl.com/nbz4gus). Post ice age melting has chopped it into two remnants, northern and southern, in both of which the glaciers are retreating fast with climate change. Thinning is proving a more important factor in terms of ice loss than retreat.This panorama from the ISS shows the Pacific Ocean in the background, with the glacial lakes in the foreground and the ice cap in the middle. The field is the largest temperate one in the southern hemisphere, fed by brutal moist winds coming in from the Pacific, affectionally known as the roaring forties. Much of the area is national park, on both sides of the border. Two volcanoes lurk under the field, Lautaro and Viedma but little is known about them.LozImage credit: NASAhttp://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=83249 -- source link
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