The advance or retreat of mountain glaciers is a measure of climate change. Currently, glaciers around the world are shrinking rapidly in response to a warming climate. These images of South Cascade Glacier in Washington State, acquired in the fall of 2000 and 2006, shows the general retreat of the glacier terminus. Similarly, long-term sequential imagery of select glaciers around the world will / would provide accurate assessments of global glacier wastage, yielding better estimates of sea level rise and impacts on hydrologic systems.

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South Cascade Glacier August 28, 2000 and September 10, 2006 (These images are literal IDP's which are approved for public release)

Bering Glacier is the largest and longest glacier in continental North America. In 1996, its size reached a late twentieth-century maximum. Since then, parts of Bering Glacier's terminus have retreated more than three miles and have thinned by more than 200 feet. These images below document the 1996-2005 retreat of Bering Glacier and show an example of the long-term monitoring required to accurately assess the state of the glacier.

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Bering Glacier September 1996 and May 2005 (These images are literal IDP's which are approved for public release)