Overview
- Measurements show the glacier has thinned by 5.5 m per year since 2019, compared with just 0.34 m annually from 2000 to 2019.
- Terminus surveys reveal up to 800 m of retreat at key glacier tongues since 2019, shaving about two square kilometers off its surface area.
- The ice front no longer rests on submerged moraines, leaving it fully bathed in warmer lake currents that accelerate melting.
- Data indicate the subglacial bedrock ridge that once anchored the glacier is now undermined, raising the prospect of a rapid, multi-kilometer collapse.
- Model projections warn that the glacier could lose an additional 15 km² in coming years and abandon its signature ice-dam events on Lago Argentino.