Bare Ice Arrives Early on Barnes Ice Cap, 2026 Melt Quickens
TL;DR Summary
Landsat 9 imagery shows Barnes Ice Cap on Baffin Island losing its snow cover unusually early in the 2026 Arctic summer, exposing bare ice dotted with blue meltwater ponds and a widening network of meltwater channels. With snow gone, the ice warms and melts faster, indicating continued thinning and retreat (historically about 4 m per year over 40 years, with some areas retreating much faster) and earlier surface runoff that reduces refreezing.
Topics:science#barnes-ice-cap#climate-change#earth-science#glaciers-and-ice-sheets#landsat-9#meltwater-channels
A Bare Summer for Barnes Ice Cap NASA Science (.gov)
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