Bare Ice Arrives Early on Barnes Ice Cap, 2026 Melt Quickens
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.