Glaciologist Andrea Fischer describes her first-hand experience of studying these ever-changing ice masses.
I grew up in Salzburg, Austria, and was always very fond of mountaineering. During my PhD, I used satellite data to measure the ice flow of large and remote glaciers in Iceland and polar regions that couldn’t be accessed in the field. This helped me study how quickly glacial ice flows. The subject fascinated me, and I decided to pursue a career in which I could travel to and study the glaciers in person instead of spending my days in front of a computer screen.
In October 2021, on a fieldwork trip to the Jamtalferner glacier near Galtür, Austria, my colleagues and I found this big, beautiful cave in the middle of the glacier. In this photo, I’m inside the cave. In the background, there are bubbles of 300-year-old air trapped in the ice. It’s quite unusual for glaciers to be hollow, so I was curious about how the cavities formed.
During the trip, we discovered that the cavities were much larger than we expected, especially compared with those that had already been documented.This glacier has been studied extensively since 1892. I go there with my colleagues about once every three weeks to measure the ice ourselves: it is melting rapidly. We are seeing changes not only in the glacier’s mass, but also where local plant species grow.
On this trip, we figured out how large the cavities were. At that time, the cave was already showing signs of collapse, and by June 2022, it was completely gone. In glaciology, there is often no way to determine the precise conditions of an earlier time. A glacier might look the same from the outside, but it changes constantly inside: ice flows down and melts, snow cover grows and subsides. You can never come back to the exact same glacier; we can observe only the now.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How Empty Offices Become Apartments In The U.S.Some U.S. mayors are loosening up rules that determine how developers convert office buildings into apartment complexes. The conversion trend sped up in the 2020s, as the pandemic remote work boom reshaped cities. Declines in office activity are straining tax revenues for city services like education and transit, leading some local leaders to prioritize increased conversion of dated buildings. These rule changes may create some additional housing supply in regions like the U.S. east coast. Chapters: 00:00 — Introduction 01:45 — Conversions 03:34 — Prices 05:01 — Vacancies 07:00 — Policies Producer, Editor, and Aerial Photographer: Carlos Waters Additional Camera by: Andrea Miller Animation: Christina Locopo, Andrea Schmitz Supervising Producer: Lindsey Jacobson Additional Sources: Census Bureau, Jones Lang LaSalle, Kastle Systems Additional Footage: Athenaeum of Philadelphia, Columbus Metropolitan Club, Getty Images, NBC4 Washington, Office of New York City Mayor Eric Adams » Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC » Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision About CNBC: From 'Wall Street' to 'Main Street' to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more. Connect with CNBC News Online Get the latest news: https://www.cnbc.com/ Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https:...
Read more »
Italy welcomed back bears. Now a fatal mauling is dividing the nation.The mauling of a 26-year-old runner in the northern Italian town of Caldes by a brown bear has ignited debate over what to do with the bear, pitting the local governor against animal rights activists.
Read more »
Taylor Swift Has Four of the Top 10 Albums on the Billboard 200 ChartTaylor Swift becomes first living artist in nearly 60 years with four of the top 10 albums on the Billboard 200.
Read more »
(G)I-DLE Earns Quadruple Crown On Circle Weekly Charts + FIFTY FIFTY Tops Social Chart(G)I-DLE Earns Quadruple Crown On Circle Weekly Charts + FIFTY FIFTY Tops Social Chart
Read more »
D-Block Europe Sets U.K. Chart RecordThe duo becomes the British rap act with the most top 10 albums.
Read more »