Earth
ID: 30181
Tropical glaciers have retreated significantly in the past century, and many have lost more than half of their ice in the last few decades. Indonesia’s glaciers are no exception. In 1989, five ice masses sat on the slopes of Puncak Jaya, a 4,884-meter peak within the Sudirman Range. By 2009, two of the glaciers—Meren and Southwall—were gone. The other three—Carstenz, East Northwall Firn, and West North Wall Firn—had retreated dramatically.
This pair of images, captured by the Thematic Mapper (TM) on Landsat 4 and Landsat 5, offer a view of the ice loss between 1989 and 2009. The images are a combination of shortwave infrared, near infrared, and green light. Ice appears light blue. Clouds are primarily white, though some are tinged with blue. Exposed rock is salmon-colored; forests are green. (The gray area near the center of the 2009 image is the Grasberg mine. Established in 1990 by Freeport McMoran, the open-pit mine has the world’s largest known gold reserve and second largest copper reserve.)
Ice Loss on Puncak Jaya
This pair of images, captured by the Thematic Mapper (TM) on Landsat 4 and Landsat 5, offer a view of the ice loss between 1989 and 2009. The images are a combination of shortwave infrared, near infrared, and green light. Ice appears light blue. Clouds are primarily white, though some are tinged with blue. Exposed rock is salmon-colored; forests are green. (The gray area near the center of the 2009 image is the Grasberg mine. Established in 1990 by Freeport McMoran, the open-pit mine has the world’s largest known gold reserve and second largest copper reserve.)
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Credits
Robert Simmon (Sigma Space Corporation): Data Visualizer
Jesse Allen (Sigma Space Corporation): Data Visualizer
Marit Jentoft-Nilsen: Animator
Jesse Allen (Sigma Space Corporation): Data Visualizer
Marit Jentoft-Nilsen: Animator
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30181
Mission:
Landsat
Data Used:
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.
Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Climate Indicators
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Cryosphere >> Glaciers/Ice Sheets
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Human Dimensions >> Environmental Impacts
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Cryosphere >> Glaciers/Ice Sheets >> Glacier Mass Balance/Ice Sheet Mass Balance
GCMD >> Location >> Indonesia
SVS >> Hyperwall
NASA Science >> Earth
GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30181
Mission:
Landsat
Data Used:
Landsat-4/TM
Landsat-5/TM
Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Climate Indicators
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Cryosphere >> Glaciers/Ice Sheets
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Human Dimensions >> Environmental Impacts
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Cryosphere >> Glaciers/Ice Sheets >> Glacier Mass Balance/Ice Sheet Mass Balance
GCMD >> Location >> Indonesia
SVS >> Hyperwall
NASA Science >> Earth
GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0
