posted by Dr. Amber Jenkins This picture of Malaspina Glacier,
Alaska, was taken in June 2001 by NASA’s Advanced Spaceborne
Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument. A
recent report from the U.S. Geological Survey, which has tracked
the state of glaciers in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska over
the past 50 years, shows that they have shrunk dramatically over
the last couple of decades. The South Cascade Glacier in
Washington, for example, has lost nearly half its volume and a
quarter of its mass since 1958. These long periods of record
give us clues to the climate shifts (higher worldwide
temperatures) that are likely driving glacier change.