RenoVous

 The Antarctic ice sheet is approximately 1.2 miles thick, covering 98% of the continent. NASA satellite imagery confirmed it actually gained mass from 2021-2023, but this was simply due to increased precipitation, and definitely did not make up for 20 years of loss. Scientists have recently been able to better map the bedrock beneath.  Geological features shape how ice flows, sculpting the glacial surface, and having a clearer picture of this process will help scientists predict ice changes in response to warming. They found river channels stretching hundreds of miles, sharp transitions between highland and lowland terrain, suggesting tectonic boundaries.  Deep valleys exist 18.6 miles beneath the ice that were previously unknown, or unclear. About a year ago, a team drilled a spot 2 miles down to reach 1.2 million year old ice, the oldest ice core yet.  (Older ice has been found, about 6 million years old, but it is not a continuous core). Analysis will show how Ea...

  The Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska. You may have heard the news about the river flooding, which came after what's called a "glacier lake outburst flood."  As glaciers melt and lakes form, sometimes the glacier acts as a dam.   This year, the runoff was especially intense and the so named "Suicide Basin" couldn't hold. This  article  has a time lapse of the basin from a US Geological Survey camera. The glacier had been receding fairly consistently at 160 feet per year, but from August 2021 to August 2022, it retreated more than 800 feet. The ice is also thinning, which means the seasonal and annual cycle of the glacier is losing to the hotter, longer summers.  As it retreats, the whole ecosystem is affected as nutrient levels fluctuate.  Changes in water temperature will have a large impact on species such as salmon.

 Trailhead at Little Truckee Summit Heading towards Frenchman Lake.

Last weekend we took a drive out to Frenchman's Lake to see some freeze. Ice chimes.