Earth from Space - Image Information


LOCATION Direction Photo #: ISS064-E-39659 Date: Mar. 2021
Geographic Region: ARGENTINA
Feature: PERITO MORENO GLACIER, GLACIERS, SOUTHERN PATAGONIA ICEFIELD


 

The heavily textured surface of Perito Moreno, one of the world's last non-retreating glaciers, glistens in this detailed photograph taken by an astronaut from the International Space Station (ISS). The glacier, located at the southern end of the Southern Patagonian Icefield in Argentina, rises more than 60 meters (200 feet) above the surface of Lago Argentino to the northeast. It marks the separation point between the main lake and its murkier southern branch, Brazo Rico. A single road winds along the coast of Peninsula Magallanes toward Moreno.

The surface of Perito Moreno is marked by a mixture of glacial cracks (crevasses) and ice columns (seracs). These features are the result of shear stress within the glacier, as the "river of ice" cycles through periods of advancement and retreat. Where the glacier meets the lake, ice separates in a sonorous event called calving that happens almost daily. This spectacle has made Los Glaciares National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular tourist destination.

Periodically, Moreno advances all the way to Peninsula Magallanes, acting as a natural dam and cutting off Brazo Rico from the rest of Lago Argentino. During such periods, Brazo Rico's water muddies and its level rises. While the channel to Lago Argentino is open in this photo, evidence of this cyclical process is manifested in the higher tree line surrounding Brazo Rico. The rise and fall of the water creates a bathtub-ring separator between the shore and the lower forest. In contrast, the forests around Lago Argentino reach all the way to the lake's edge.



Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 394k
Mission: ISS064  
Roll - Frame: E - 39659
Geographical Name: ARGENTINA  
Features: PERITO MORENO GLACIER, GLACIERS, SOUTHERN PATAGONIA ICEFIELD  
Center Lat x Lon: 50.5S x 73W
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera:: N9
 
Camera Tilt: 31   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 1600  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: W   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number:  
 
Date: 20210302   YYYYMMDD
Time: 205611   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 50.9S  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 70.7W  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 289   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 230   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 24   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views:  
Water Views:  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views:  
City Views:  

Photo is not associated with any sequences


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