The Southern Patagonia Icefield stretches more than 350 kilometers (220 miles) into the Patagonian Andes across Chile and Argentina and is one of the largest ice masses on Earth outside the polar regions. A recent image captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2 highlights its stunning glaciers and sea-blue lakes. This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image taken on January 10, 2023, shows a portion of the Southern Patagonian Icefield, with its white glaciers and sea-blue lakes.
This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image shows glaciers and lakes in the Southern Patagonian Icefield between Chile and Argentina. An important indicator of climate change, the retreat of these glaciers over the past few decades has contributed to sea level rise. Image source: Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2023), processed by ESA, CCBY-SA3.0IGO
Ice sheets form when snow compresses and freezes into ice over many years. Glaciers are affected by topography and usually form at the edges of ice sheets.
In this image, ice masses feed several smaller and larger glaciers, including Argentina's Perito Moreno Glacier in the upper right corner. The Perito-Moreno Glacier is located on a narrow channel that feeds Lake Argentina and forms an ice dam that separates the main body of the lake (turquoise at the top) from its southern arm (grey).
lakes, sediments and glaciers
Many lakes in the region are fed by melting glaciers. The color of the lake water ranges from dark blue to gray, depending on the amount of fine sediment suspended in the water. This deposit is called "glacial milk" and is the result of wear and tear by glaciers as they flow over underlying rocks.
The largest glacier visible at the bottom of the image is Gray Glacier, which is divided into three parts by land at its terminus. It is located within Torres del Paine National Park, one of the largest national parks in Chile. The name of the park comes from the three unique granite peaks "Torres del Paine" visible in the lower right corner of the picture.
Moraine and climate change indicators
The dark lines across most glaciers are moraines: accumulations of rock, soil, and other debris deposited by glaciers. Looking closely at the termini of some glaciers we can see how icebergs break off and float in fjords and lakes.
Glaciers are the largest reservoirs of fresh water on Earth. The rate at which glaciers melt or grow is one of the best indicators of climate change. The loss of glaciers is one of the main causes of sea level rise. Many of Patagonia's glaciers have been retreating over the past 50 years. Satellite data helps monitor changes in glacier mass, extent and thickness, and thus their impact on sea level rise.