The San Quintín Glacier is the largest outflow glacier of the Northern
Patagonian Ice Field in southern Chile. Its terminus is a piedmont lobe just
short of the Golfo de Penas on the Pacific Ocean and just north of 47°S. Like
many glaciers worldwide during the twentieth century, San Quintín appears to
be losing mass and possibly retreating. Such a change is evident in these two
photographs taken by astronauts only seven years apart. The first was taken by
the crew of STS-068 in October1994 and the second by the Increment 4 crew of the
International Space Station in February 2002.
Even with the reversal of season and different lighting conditions of these
two acquisitions, a loss of mass and change of structure, particularly in the
lobe, are strikingly evident in these comparative photos. Glaciers are one of
the special topics identified as scientific objectives
for monitoring
with photography from the International Space Station. Astronaut photography is
a complimentary source of remote sensing data available for use with other
sensor systems being used to monitor and study glaciers (see an ASTER image
of the San Quintín Glacier). They also provide strong, visual
context information on glacier environments and processes using a familiar
medium, the camera.