Climatic
changes take place quite faster than predicted. Extreme climatic conditions,
unexpected waves of heat, frequent change in climate are some such natural
changes that have taken place due to the bad impacts of global warming. Endless
wildfires, melting of glaciers, the threat of flooding have become worse than
earlier.
All these
circumstances have made worldwide institutions and organizations to be on the
alert about the ongoing situation of the world. NASA is the mother organization
that plays the major role among them. NASA has been watching the changes of the
locations for years using their space technology expecting to identify the
signs of climatic changes.
Images Of Change is the recently
released website of NASA that is used to document the devastating climatic
changes that take place worldwide.
Here are
some of the notable changes that took over decades and years.
#1 Arctic Sea-Ice
Cap Hits Low Records.
This is a
comparison of the ice coverage in the Arctic Ocean in 1984 and 2012. A
noticeable increase, as well as a shrink, has been recorded in winter and
summer respectively. They have witnessed an unusual record of ice in 2012. The
net average amount of ice in 2012 is lower than half of the average amount of
ice from 1979-2000. “At the rate, we’re
observing this decline,” said NASA scientist Joey Comiso, ‘likely, the Arctic’s
summer sea ice will completely disappear within this century.'”
#2 The Aral
Sea In Central Asia Starts Shrinking.
Until the
1960's the Aral Sea was considered the fourth largest lake in the world. This
situation changed due to the diversion made to the rivers that fed the Aral Sea.
The water of the rivers that fed the sea was diverted to grow cotton and other
crops in the arid zones of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. This led
to a remarkable shrinkage of the sea that began in the second half of the 20th
century. The separation of the Aral Sea from the Southern Aral Sea is
surprising. It had split itself into eastern and western lobes. However, the
dam that was constructed in 2005 helped the northern sea to recover into a
particular amount. But, unfortunately, the eastern lobes of the Southern sea
completely dried up due to the prevailed dry conditions in 2014. The loss of
such a huge water body to the region has made the winter of the region much
colder and summer much hotter than earlier.
#3 Muir
Glacier In Alaska Starts Melting.
This was a
photograph that was taken in 1941. It shows the lower reaches of Muir Glacier
and its tributary, Riggs Glacier. The two glaciers filled Muir Inlet. But, the
picture that was taken in 2004 shows the retreat of the Muir Glacier nearly for
two centuries. Riggs Glacier has retreated some 0.4 miles (0.6 kilometers). The
obvious drastic melting of a couple of glaciers is quite alarming.
#4 Drying Lake
Poopo In Bolivia.
Lake Poopó
is the second-largest lake in Bolivia. It has great importance in the local
fishing industry. Unfortunately, it has dried up once again due to the
diversion of the waterway to mining, agriculture, and droughts. It had dried up
the last in 1994 and had taken a few years to recover its waters and
ecosystems. During the wet seasons, this lake has spanned an area approaching
1,200 square miles (3,000 square kilometers). It has been vulnerable to
fluctuations due to the shallow depth of about 9 feet (3 meters).
#5 Drought In
Lake Powell, Arizona, And Utah.
A drastic
drop in the water level in Lake Powell has been witnessed due to the long-term
droughts and water withdrawals. These images compare the northern and southern
parts of the lake. The northern part of it is quite narrow and deep and
meanders the reservoir that runs from Arizona upstream into southern Utah. In 1999,
the lake had been at its full capacity while in May the volume of water had
dropped to 42% of its total capacity by 2014.
#6 Rare Falls
Of Snow At The Edge Of The Sahara Desert.
A rare fall
of snow has been witnessed in the Sahara Desert in December 2016. They have
witnessed a snowfall at the northwestern part of the desert but have
disappeared during a small period. Only the snow at the highest elevations was
left. The image on the right was captured by Landsat 8. Ain Sefra’s last
snowfall occurred in February 1979.
#7 Ice
Avalanche In Tibet’s Aru Range.
This shows
the collapse of a glacier tongue on 17th July 2016. It caused death to nine
people 350 sheep and 110 yaks. This ice avalanche is one of the largest on
Earth. It had left debris as much as 98 feet (30 meters) thick across 4 square
miles (10 square kilometers). The reason for this unprecedented collapse is not
yet discovered by the glaciologists.
#8 Iceland’s
Ok Glacier Is Nearing Its Farewell.
These are
the up-to-date pictures of the melting Ok glacier close to the volcano in
west-central Iceland.
The glacier
had shrunk to about 1square mile / 3 square kilometers in 1978. But, by today
less than half a square mile remains.
#9 The
Bering Sea Records A Decrease Of Ice.
The amount
of ice detected in the Bering Sea has started decreasing each year since 1850.
According
to scientific records, ice covers over 193,000 square miles (500,000 square
kilometers) of the sea during late April. This amount is roughly similar to
twice the size of Texas. The ice extent in 2018 was half of the normal amount.
This rapid process of melting directly affects the phytoplanktons and the
entire Bering Sea community.
#10 Shrinking
Glaciers In New Zealand.
There are
more than 3,000 glaciers in New Zealand. Most of them are seen in the South
Island’s Southern Alps. But, these glaciers have been disappearing since 1890
with notable advancements. Scientists never expect these glaciers to return
without substantial climate cooling. These images compare the look of the
glaciers in 1990 and 2017. The glaciers are the Tasman Glacier, Hooker Glacier,
Mueller Glacier, and New Zealand’s longest.
#11 Beach Erosion
Takes Place Near Freeport, Texas.
These
pictures show a region that is south of Freeport, Texas, where the beach is
being lost at a rate of nearly 49 feet (15 meters) per year along an 11-mile
(17-kilometer) stretch. This is considered one of the largest erosive hotspots
in the world.
The
researchers showed a 24% of erosion more than 20 inches (0.5 meters) per year.
28% of sandy beaches grew and 48% remained stable.
#12 Some Of
The Glaciers Melt While Some Get Advanced.
A
noticeable decrease in the mass of the glaciers such as those in Chile’s Southern
Patagonia Icefield has been witnessed in the past years.
One among
the SPI’s glaciers, the Brüggen Glacier that is also known as the Pio XI
Glacier, is a glacier that gets advanced for no obvious reason. The southern
front of the glacier has advanced 593 meters (about 1,945 feet) while the
northern front, which flows into Lake Greve has advanced 107 meters (about 351
feet). Scientists present the activity inside the glacier as the reason for its
advancement. They also consider the depth of the law and the flow speed as
extra reasons.
#13 Tanami Desert
Fires, Australia.
The
extremely dry weather conditions have led to main fires across northern and
central Australia during the last year.
The fires
that took place in February caused a lot of damage to the area. The main
reasons for the Australian bush wires have been the extremely dry conditions of
those areas. The vegetation of the Tanami in Australia is limited to shrubs and
short grass. The satellite image that was taken in September shows the dark
area from previous fires.
#14 James River In South Dakota Starts To
Flood.
These
pictures depict a section of the James River in eastern South Dakota. The image
in 2015 shows the river during a typical spring while the image in 2020 shows
the overflowing river banks. Ice appears in light blue while water appears in
dark blue in these false images. The blue region that is merged with the James River
from below is Putney Slough.
#15 Meltwater
Pools On George Vi Ice Shelf, Antarctica.
Even the
glaciers in Antarctica have started melting by now. The areas with the blue shade depict the
widespread meltwater pooling — spanning some 90 miles (140 kilometers) — ever
recorded on the George VI Ice Shelf. Thus a huge slab of ice runs from the
western side of the Antarctic Peninsula and floats on the waters separating the
peninsula from Alexander Island. These pools can destabilize ice shelves, but
George VI seems to be strong enough to withstand them.
#16 Derecho
Flatters Iowa Crops.
A powerful
windstorm, known as a derecho, tore across Iowa, northern Illinois, and
northern Indiana on Aug. 10, 2020, with hurricane-force winds of 75 mph (120
kph) or more. These pictures show cornfields and soybean fields right before
and after the storm. The damaged crops have been indicated by the lighter
greens of the August image.
#17
Hawaiian Island Vanishes.
As shown in
the September image Northwestern Hawaiian Islands included East Island until
hurricane Walaka struck in October 2018. But most of the 11 acres of gravel and
sand have been washed away leaving only a couple of silver lands as you can see
in the October image. East Isle was a part of the French Frigate Shoals, an
atoll in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
#18 The
Glacier In Columbia Starts Melting.
The
Columbia Glacier of Alaska descends through the Chugach Mountains into Prince
William Sound. The nose of this glacier extended to the northern edge of
Heather Islands near the Bay of Columbia in 1794. A rapid retreat started
thinning the glacier than expected and the up and down motions of the ocean
waves started affecting its flow as much as 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) upstream.
#19 Floods In
Peru Take Place Due To Heavy Rains.
Huge
devastation had been caused to Peru due to the heavy rains that began in
mid-March 2017. Over 70,000 people had lost their shelters and over 60 people
had lost their lives due to the floods and mudslides. Both the Lago La Niña and
Piura River have overflowed their river banks. According to the official data
reports, 509 bridges and 4,660 miles (7,500 km) of roads have been damaged by
now. The salt pans and clouds appear light blue in these false-color images
(depressions in the ground in which saltwater evaporates, leaving the salt
behind).
#20
Kaskawulsh Glacier Meltwater Alters Downstream Ecosystems.
Kaskawulsh
Glacier which is located in the Kluane National Park and Reserve of
southwestern Yukon Territory, Canada, has decreased its mass over the past few
decades. This has also caused an unusual instance of river piracy—the diversion
of one stream’s headwaters into another. Even though it flowed north via the
Slims River into Kluane Lake, reaching the Yukon River and the Bering Sea
during the spring in 2016, now the melted water flows towards the East to the
Alsek River and the Pacific Ocean via the Kaskawulsh River. It has brought a
huge change in flows as well as in water levels and ecosystems.
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