Latest news with #PeritoMoreno
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Science
- The Guardian
‘It can't withstand the heat': fears ‘stable' Patagonia glacier in irreversible decline
One of the few stable glaciers in a warming world, Perito Moreno, in Santa Cruz province, Argentina, is now undergoing a possibly irreversible retreat, scientists say. Over the past seven years, it has lost 1.92 sq km (0.74 sq miles) of ice cover and its thickness is decreasing by up to 8 metres (26 ft) a year. For decades, Perito Moreno defied the global trend of glacial retreat, maintaining an exceptional balance between snow accumulation and melting. Its dramatic calving events, when massive blocks of ice crashed into Lago Argentino, became a symbol of natural wonder, drawing millions of visitors to southern Patagonia. Dr Lucas Ruiz, a glaciologist at the Argentine Institute of Nivology, Glaciology and Environmental Sciences, said: 'The Perito Moreno is a very particular, exceptional glacier. Since records began, it stood out to the first explorers in the late 19th century because it showed no signs of retreat – on the contrary, it was advancing. And it continued to do so until 2018, when we began to see a different behaviour. Since then, its mass loss has become increasingly rapid.' Scientists and local guides warn that the balance is beginning to shift. 'The first year the glacier didn't return to its previous year's position was 2022. The same happened in 2023, again in 2024, and now in 2025. The truth is, the retreat continues. The glacier keeps thinning, especially along its northern margin,' said Ruiz. This sector is the farthest from tourist walkways and lies above the deepest part of Lago Argentino, the largest freshwater lake in Argentina. The summer of 2023-24 recorded a maximum temperature of 11.2C, according to meteorological data collected by Pedro Skvarca, a geophysical engineer and the scientific director of the Glaciarium centre in El Calafate, Patagonia. Over the past 30 years, the average summer temperature rose by 1.2C, a change significant enough to greatly accelerate ice melt. Ice thickness measurements are equally alarming. Between 2018 and 2022, the glacier was thinning at a rate of 4 metres a year. But in the past two years, that has doubled to 8 metres annually. 'Perito Moreno's size no longer matches the current climate; it's simply too big. It can't withstand the heat, and the current ice input isn't enough to compensate,' Ruiz said. Ice that once rested on the lakebed owing to its weight, said Ruiz, had now thinned so much that it was beginning to float, as water pressure overtook the ice's own. With that anchor lost, the glacier's front accelerates – not because of increased mass input from the accumulation zone, where snow compacts into ice, but because the front slides and deforms. This movement triggers a feedback loop that further weakens the structure, making the process potentially irreversible. Xabier Blanch Gorriz, a professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, who studies ice calving at the Perito Moreno glacier front, said: 'Describing the change as 'irreversible' is complex, because glaciers are dynamic systems. But the truth is that the current rate of retreat points to a clearly negative trend.' He added: 'The glacier's retreat and thinning are evident and have accelerated.' Ruiz confirmed another disturbing trend reported by local guides: calving events are becoming louder, more frequent, and much larger. In April, a guide at Los Glaciares national park described watching a tower of ice the height of a 20-storey building collapse into the lake. 'It's only in the last four to six years that we've started seeing icebergs this size,' he told Reuters. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion In January of this year, Blanch Gorriz and his team installed eight photogrammetric systems that capture images every 30 minutes, enabling the generation of 3D models of about 300 metres of the glacier front. Initial comparisons between December and June already reveal significant ice loss. Satellite images further highlight a striking retreat over just 100 days. Today, nothing seems capable of halting the glacier's retreat. Only a series of cooler summers and wetter winters might slow the trend, but climate projections point in the opposite direction. 'What we expect is that, at some point, Perito Moreno will lose contact with the Magallanes peninsula, which has historically acted as a stabilising buttress and slowed the glacier's response to climate change. When that happens, we'll likely see a catastrophic retreat to a new equilibrium position, farther back in the narrow valley,' said Ruiz. Such a shift would represent a 'new configuration' of the glacier, raising scientific questions about how this natural wonder would behave in the future. 'It will be something never seen before – even farther back than what the first researchers documented in the late 19th century,' Ruiz nadded. How long the glacier might hold that future position remains unknown. But what scientists do know is that the valley, unlike the Magallanes peninsula, would not be able to hold the glacier in place. Perito Moreno – Latin America's most iconic glacier and part of a Unesco world heritage site since 1981 – now joins a regrettable local trend: its neighbours, the Upsala and Viedma glaciers, have retreated at an astonishing rate over the past two decades. It is also part of a global pattern in which, as Ruiz put it, humanity is 'digging the grave' of the world's glaciers.
The Guardian
15-06-2025
- The Guardian
The kindness of strangers: when I left my card in an ATM in Argentina, a Dutch guy found it and saved my trip
I was towards the end of a nine-week trip, travelling solo around the world. After that long abroad, I was just exhausted. So when I went to the ATM to get money out, I made a critical mistake. At home in Australia, we take the card out and then we get our cash. In Argentina, where I was, it's the reverse – first your cash comes out, then your card. So I put my card in, got my money and just walked away, leaving my card behind. I was already on the other side of the street when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and this hulking Dutch guy handed me my bank card, telling me I'd forgotten it. I immediately burst into tears, then thanked him profusely and tried to offer him a reward. He politely refused, and away he went. I was in a town called El Calafate, and the next day I travelled to the Perito Moreno Glacier. There I saw him through the crowd – tall Dutchmen are easy to spot! I ran after him to say: 'Hey, you're the guy who returned my bank card!' He didn't really remember me, because I was nobody important in his life, but he was certainly important in mine. I said to him, 'Look, I really want to give you something to say thanks – how about I shout you a beer?' He was travelling with some friends, so the three of us perched in the little cafe and drank a beer. I was just so happy that I could thank this man – whose name, I learned, was Bart – and give him a little token of my appreciation. Bart thought what he had done was no big deal, but to me it was. This was in 2009, a different time for technology. If he hadn't returned my card, I would have been in a big mess. I only carried the one card, which in hindsight was a bit careless, but that's what I had. If you're traveling with somebody else you can use their card for a while and reimburse them later; when you're on your own, it's a whole different situation. And every traveller knows that any problem on holiday feels magnified to the extreme! All these years later, I have not forgotten Bart's act of kindness. At the cafe, we took a photo together, which I've always kept. From making your day to changing your life, we want to hear about chance encounters that have stuck with you. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. If you're having trouble using the form click here. Read terms of service here and privacy policy here
Japan Times
16-05-2025
- Climate
- Japan Times
Huge ice falls at Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier stir awe and concern
The deep cracking sound bursting from within the ice signals the dramatic fall about to happen. Seconds later, a block of ice some 70 meters tall — the size of a 20-story building — collapses from the face of the Perito Moreno glacier into the aquamarine water below. The sight has attracted visitors to Argentina's most famous glacier for years. Standing on platforms facing the ice, they wait for the next crack to split the cool Patagonian air. But recently the size of the ice chunks breaking off — a process called "calving" — has been starting to alarm local guides and glaciologists, already anxious at a prolonged retreat by Perito Moreno, which had bucked the trend in recent decades by maintaining its mass even as warmer climates spurred faster glacial melting worldwide. "Ice calving events of this size haven't been very common at the Perito Moreno glacier over the past 20 years," said Pablo Quinteros, an official tourist guide at Los Glaciares National Park in the southern province of Santa Cruz. "It's only in the last four to six years that we've started to see icebergs this big," he said during a visit in April. The face of the glacier, which flows down from Andean peaks to end in the waters of Lake Argentina, had for decades held more or less steady, some years advancing and others retreating. But in the last five years, there's been a firmer retreat. "It had been in more or less the same position for the past 80 years. And that's unusual," said Argentine glaciologist Lucas Ruiz with state science body CONICET, whose research focus is the future of Patagonian glaciers in the face of climate change. "However, since 2020, signs of retreat have begun to be seen in some parts of the Perito Moreno glacier's face." He said that the glacier could rebound as it has done before, but that for the moment it was losing between one and two meters of water equivalent per year, which if not reversed could lead to a situation where the loss accelerates. A state-backed 2024 report, co-authored by Ruiz and presented to Argentina's Congress, showed that while Perito Moreno's mass has been overall stable for half a century, the period since 2015 has seen the fastest and most prolonged loss of mass in 47 years, on average losing 0.85 meters per year. Glaciers around the globe are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record, according to a UNESCO report in March. Ruiz said instruments his research team used to monitor the glacier had shown an increase in air temperature in the area of around 0.06 degrees Celsius per decade and precipitation decreasing, meaning less accumulation of snow and ice. "The thing with Perito Moreno is that it took a while, so to speak, to feel the effects of climate change," Ruiz said. Now, however, the accumulation of ice at the top of the glacier was being outpaced by melting and calving at the bottom. "The changes we are seeing today clearly show that this balance of forces ... has been disrupted, and today the glacier is losing both in thickness and area." For now, the glacier remains an awe-inspiring attraction for travelers, who board boats to see the calving and the huge icebergs floating around the lake up close. "It's insane. The most incredible thing I've ever seen," said Brazilian tourist Giovanna Machado on the deck of one of the boats, which have to be careful of sudden ice falls. "Even in photos, you just can't grasp the immensity of it, and it's perfect. It's amazing. I think everyone should come here at least once in their lifetime."
Reuters
15-05-2025
- Reuters
Huge ice falls at glacier in Argentina stir awe and concern
For years, visitors traveled to Argentina to watch in awe as blocks of ice - some the size of a 20-story building - collapsed from the face of the Perito Moreno glacier. But recently, the size of the ice chunks breaking off - a process called "calving" - has started to alarm local guides and glaciologists. Kristy Kilburn explains.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Argentina's huge ice wall is a surprise tourist attraction. It's now falling apart
The deep cracking sound bursting from within the ice signals the dramatic fall about to happen. Seconds later, a block of ice some 70 meters (230 ft) tall - the size of a 20-story building - collapses from the face of the Perito Moreno glacier into the aquamarine water below. The sight has attracted visitors to Argentina 's most famous glacier for years. Standing on platforms facing the ice, they wait for the next crack to split the cool Patagonian air. But recently the size of the ice chunks breaking off - a process called "calving" - has been starting to alarm local guides and glaciologists, already anxious at a prolonged retreat by Perito Moreno, which had bucked the trend in recent decades by maintaining its mass even as warmer climates spurred faster glacial melting worldwide. "Ice calving events of this size haven't been very common at the Perito Moreno glacier over the past 20 years," said Pablo Quinteros, an official tourist guide at Los Glaciares National Park in the southern province of Santa Cruz. "It's only in the last four to six years that we've started to see icebergs this big," he told Reuters during a visit in April. The face of the glacier, which flows down from Andean peaks to end in the waters of Lake Argentina, had for decades held more or less steady, some years advancing and others retreating. But in the last five years, there's been a firmer retreat. "It had been in more or less the same position for the past 80 years. And that's unusual," said Argentine glaciologist Lucas Ruiz with state science body CONICET, whose research focus is the future of Patagonian glaciers in the face of climate change. "However, since 2020, signs of retreat have begun to be seen in some parts of the Perito Moreno glacier's face." He said that the glacier could rebound as it has done before, but that for the moment it was losing between one and two meters of water equivalent per year, which if not reversed could lead to a situation where the loss accelerates. A state-backed 2024 report, co-authored by Ruiz and presented to Argentina's Congress, showed that while Perito Moreno's mass has been overall stable for half a century, the period since 2015 has seen the fastest and most prolonged loss of mass in 47 years, on average losing 0.85 meters per year. Glaciers around the globe are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record, according to a UNESCO report in March. Ruiz said instruments his research team used to monitor the glacier had shown an increase in air temperature in the area of around 0.06 degrees Celsius per decade and precipitation decreasing, meaning less accumulation of snow and ice. "The thing with Perito Moreno is that it took a while, so to speak, to feel the effects of climate change," Ruiz said. Now, however, the accumulation of ice at the top of the glacier was being outpaced by melting and calving at the bottom. "The changes we are seeing today clearly show that this balance of forces... has been disrupted, and today the glacier is losing both in thickness and area." For now, the glacier remains an awe-inspiring attraction for travelers, who board boats to see the calving and the huge icebergs floating around the lake up close. "It's insane. The most incredible thing I've ever seen," said Brazilian tourist Giovanna Machado on the deck of one of the boats, which have to be careful of sudden ice falls. "Even in photos, you just can't grasp the immensity of it, and it's perfect. It's amazing. I think everyone should come here at least once in their lifetime."
