Gut-wrenching: Alaska's Columbia Glacier continues to pull free from it's holding points

Larger image of the above can be found here.

Breaking from the Extreme Ice Survey.

Ten years ago, in 2006, James Balog photographed the terminus of Alaska's Columbia Glacier from a helicopter. At the end of May, the Extreme Ice Survey team returned to repeat the photo from the exact same vantage point (a challenging and dizzying task, to say the least).

Though the remarkable retreat of the glacier's terminus is clear, other significant changes have taken place, too. The glacier has deflated vertically, as... seen by the vegetation trim line which indicates a reduction in height roughly the size of the Empire State Building.

In addition, the main branch of the glacier has completely separated from the west branch of the glacier. The branches are seen in the 2006 image, split by a dark black stripe of rock debris known as a medial moraine. It's a stunning and worrisome change. In the next few weeks, our team will be on location in Iceland, checking up on the country's glaciers and those who have tracked their retreat for generations.

Larger image can be found here.

From Earth Vision Institute:

Flowing from the heart of the Chugach Mountains in South-Central Alaska, the Columbia Glacier is one of the fastest changing glaciers in North America. In the last 30 years the glacier has deflated well over one thousand feet and has retreated about ten miles. This loss contributes to approximately one percent of total sea level rise (accounting for both thermal expansion and glacier mass melt).