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The Upsala Glacier is a large valley glacier in Argentina's Los Glaciares National Park. It flows out from the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, which also feeds the nearby Perito Moreno Glacier. The terminus of the glacier is at Lago Argentino. The Upsala Glacier is well known for its rapid retreat, which many see as evidence for global warming.
The Upsala Glacier is part of the Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina. Its ice fields cover some 870 km2, and stretch the length of 60 km. It is the second longest glacier in South America, exceeded only by the Pius XI Glacier in Chile. The Upsala Glacier has undergone severe retraction in recent decades: the area of the glacier, which in 1986 measured 902 km2,diminished by 3.7 percent over 19 years, when a new measurement was taken in 2005 (SAyDS 2009b).
Broadly speaking, the deterioration of glaciers in Patagonia has negative effects on the ecosystems which are dependent on them including the loss of biodiversity and forest biomass, as well as causing flooding and drought. The 2005 image, in comparison with the 1979 image, shows the thinning of the arms of the glacier (purple areas) and a notable decrease in the extent of the glacier’s leading edge, a consequence of enhanced melting (bluer and greener colours).
The name comes from the old spelling with one p of Uppsala University, which sponsored the first glaciological studies in the area.
The glacier's almost continual recession up until 1999 has recently slowed (as of 2003). The previous acceleration in ice motion during the two decades preceding 1999 may have been augmented by the release of backstress when the glacier retreated beyond the islands in Brazo Upsala.
The Upsala Glacier is part of the Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina. Its ice fields cover some 870 km2, and stretch the length of 60 km. It is the second longest glacier in South America, exceeded only by the Pius XI Glacier in Chile. The Upsala Glacier has undergone severe retraction in recent decades: the area of the glacier, which in 1986 measured 902 km2,diminished by 3.7 percent over 19 years, when a new measurement was taken in 2005 (SAyDS 2009b).
Broadly speaking, the deterioration of glaciers in Patagonia has negative effects on the ecosystems which are dependent on them including the loss of biodiversity and forest biomass, as well as causing flooding and drought. The 2005 image, in comparison with the 1979 image, shows the thinning of the arms of the glacier (purple areas) and a notable decrease in the extent of the glacier’s leading edge, a consequence of enhanced melting (bluer and greener colours).
The name comes from the old spelling with one p of Uppsala University, which sponsored the first glaciological studies in the area.
The glacier's almost continual recession up until 1999 has recently slowed (as of 2003). The previous acceleration in ice motion during the two decades preceding 1999 may have been augmented by the release of backstress when the glacier retreated beyond the islands in Brazo Upsala.
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