January 23, 2023 - Southern Patagonia Ice Field

Patagonia
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This stunning true-color image of a cloud-free summer day over the
South Patagonian Icefield was acquired on January 17, 2023, by the
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s
Aqua satellite.

Sitting atop the Andes Mountains in southern South America, the
Patagonian Icefields are a remnant of a massive ice sheet that existed
about 18,000 years ago. Today, the ancient ice sheet has withered to
three remnants: the North, South, and Cordillera Darwin Icefields.
These modern icefields still contain the largest expanse of ice in the
Southern Hemisphere outside of Antarctica. only three icefields remain
of the ancient ice sheet.

The Southern Icefield, shown in this image, is the largest of the
three, stretching about 217 miles (250 km) along high Andes ridgetops.
Scientists currently estimate the size at about 12,200 square
kilometers (4,710 square miles), which is a little smaller than the
size of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It’s about three times the size
of the Northern Patagonian Icefield and both of those are much larger
than the Cordillera Darwin Icefield, which sits at the farthest tip of
the continent.

Several large and visually striking glacial lakes can be seen along the
edges of the Southern Icefield, especially along the eastern side. The
lakes are filled with meltwater from the Icefield glaciers as well as
from meltwater from each winter’s fresh snowfall. As glaciers slowly
slide along the mountains, their weight grinds the stone beneath into
very fine sediment, which is known as “glacial flour”. Glacial
meltwater carries the glacial flour into the lakes, creating the
remarkable and unique teal-colored appearance.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 1/17/2023
Resolutions: 1km (239 KB), 500m (604.3 KB), 250m (430.7 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-01-23

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