Throughout the Himalayas, many glaciers are retreating and meltwater lakes are growing, putting people at risk downhill and downstream.
Published May 9, 2017
Snow cover lingered in the Great Lakes region on February 16, 2008. Against the backdrop of snowy ground appear the deep blue waters of the Great Lakes and nearby water bodies. In this wintertime shot, the lakes are relatively ice-free, except for Lake Erie.
Published Feb 20, 2008
The extent of ice on North America's Great Lakes is past its annual peak, but remains above the average maximum extent.
Published Mar 18, 2015
A late fall snowstorm frosted the hills of the Finger Lakes region of central New York in early December, 2004. Shapes of the snow-covered hills are accented by the low Sun angles, and contrast with the darker, finger-shaped lakes filling the region’s valleys. The steep, roughly parallel valleys and hills of the Finger Lakes region were shaped by advancing and retreating ice sheets that were as much as 2 miles deep during the last ice age (2 million years to about 10,000 years ago). River valleys were scoured into deep troughs; many are now filled with lakes. The two largest lakes, Seneca and Cayuga, are so deep that the base of their lakebeds are below sea level.
Published Dec 20, 2004
Ice cover surpassed 80 percent for the first time in 20 years.
Published Feb 21, 2014
Tens of millions of small lakes dot frigid tundra landscapes in the Arctic—like the swampy Yana River Delta.
Published Jul 28, 2018
Across the rippling, crevassed whitescape of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, two unusual shapes appear in this grayscale satellite image of the frozen continent.
Published Feb 4, 2006
When it comes to the blue hue of meltwater lakes, darker means deeper; satellites can help scientists discover just how deep.
Published Sep 9, 2015
Synthetic Aperture Radar is offering scientists a new way to measure how much of the potent greenhouse gas is bubbling up from frozen Arctic lakes.
Published Jul 14, 2020
Lake Erie is usually the first to freeze over because it is shallower than the other Great Lakes.
Published Feb 18, 2018Image of the Day Atmosphere Temperature Extremes Sea and Lake Ice
Fine particles of pulverized rock absorb and scatter sunlight in ways that can give water a striking blue-green color.
Published May 20, 2019
The spring thaw is underway in the Great Lakes region of North America.
Published Mar 27, 2019
Acquired November 10, 2010, this natural-color image shows assorted lakes of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in iridescent hues of blue, green, and teal.
Published Nov 26, 2010
These images of the five Great Lakes show ice beginning to build up around the shores of each of the lakes, with snow on the ground across virtually the entire scene.
Published Jan 28, 2005
Acquired on February 19, 2011, this natural-color image shows multicolored glacial lakes extending from Andean glaciers. The lakes extend primarily eastward across the high plain.
Published Mar 11, 2011
Kelimutu volcano is home to the unique crater lakes known to change color unpredictably.
Published Jul 6, 2018
Acquired June 15, 2009, this natural-color image shows Omulyakhskaya and Khromskaya Bays along the coast of Northern Siberia.
Published Aug 14, 2011
