Retreat of Hektoria Glacier

 

The really remarkable NASA Earth Observatory site keeps producing top-notch content. This post illustrating the retreat of Hektoria Glacier in Antarctica is another example of their quality.

Record-Setting Retreat of Hektoria Glacier

"A team of scientists published an analysis of Hektoria’s collapse based on a suite of remote-sensing data, finding that its particular geometry enabled the rapid change. Like many glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula, Hektoria starts on land and extends to the sea, with the last section being a thick, floating plate of ice, or “ice tongue.” The researchers determined Hektoria lost both its ice tongue and an area of grounded ice spread over a flat plain—the latter directly contributing to sea level rise. Although Hektoria is relatively small as Antarctic glaciers go, scientists say that similar events at larger glaciers could be much more consequential."

Here's a map of where Hektoria Glacier is located.

If you want to zoom in and out in Google Maps, use this link.