IMAGES SHOW GLACIERS HAVE RETREATED AND THE shrinking OF Antarctica

 

 

 

 

Before and after shots show disappearing ice over the past 125 years Images have shown how many glaciers in southern Alaska have retreated since the late 18th Century Some are seen retreating by several miles in just over 100 years as global warming takes its toll In some instances vegetation and new water springs up in the place of the old glacier But glacial retreat can negatively affect the surrounding environment and ecosystems An series of images by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has revealed the movement of glaciers in southern Alaska. They reveal how the majority of glaciers have rapidly retreated since the late 19th Century - although a small minority have advanced. The technique - known as repeat photography - helps scientists determine how much a region has changed over time. Slide the images below to see the changing appearance of Alaska's glaciers over time ‹ SLIDE ME › Here the retreat of the Muir Inlet can be seen. On the left, a photograph taken on 13 August 1941 shows a glacier 0.43 miles (0.7km) thick, with large seracs - house-sized chunks of ice - on its face. By 11 August 2005, however, it has completely disappeared from view - seen on the right By analysing the various photographic pairs, scientists can document the evolution of the Alaskan landscape, and see how it is responding to retreating glacier ice - with an interactive map also showing their locations. WHY IS GLACIAL RETREAT BAD? The balance of glaciers and the surrounding environment can drastically affect ecosystems. When glaciers retreat, as many have done since 1850, it can affect the availability of fresh water for irrigation and domestic use. It can also affect animal and plans that depend on melt-water from glaciers, while in the longer term it can cause ocean levels to rise. The increasing rate at which glaciers are retreating is one indication of how global warming is already affecting the planet. One pair of images shows the west shoreline of Muir Inlet, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, in Alaska - and the changes that have taken place since 1892. One photograph, taken on 13 August 1941, shows a glacier 0.43 miles (0.7km) thick, with large seracs - house-sized chunks of ice - on its face. By 11 August 2005, however, the glacier has completely disappeared from, the same location, having retreated more than 31 miles (50km). In its place, abundant vegetation is located on the slopes in the photograph. Another pair of images show the retreat of the Reid Glacier between 10 June 1899 and 6 September 2003. The photograph from 1899 is taken towards the northwest and shows the 197-foot (60 metres) high terminus of the retreating glacier. By 104 years later, the glacier has retreated 1.9 miles (3km) and is barely visible in the same field of view. Again, vegetation becomes much more abundant as it retreats. ‹ SLIDE ME › The retreat of Reid Glacier between 10 June 1899 (left) and 6 September 2003 (right) is seen here. The glacier has retreated 1.9 miles (3km) and is barely visible, while more vegetation has begun to grow on the side of the hills +1 The images of the glaciers in southern Alaska (locations shown here) were compiled by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) ‹ SLIDE ME › This set of images shows the remarkable retreat of the McCarty Glacier between 30 July 1909 (left) and 11 August 2004 (right). The retreat of the glacier here took place over a distance of about 9.8 miles (15km) ‹ SLIDE ME › The first photograph on the left is of the Northwestern Glacier at some point between the mid-1920s and 1940s. A second photograph on the right, taken on 12 August 2005, shows how it has retreated more than 6.2 miles (10km) out of view Another set of images show the stunning retreat of McCarty Glacier between 30 July 1909 and 11 August 2004. The retreat of the glacier here is about 9.8 miles (15km) In a pair of north looking photographs, taken looking west of Harris Bay, another dramatic retreat of ice can be seen. The first photograph is an undated winter to summer view from a postcard, likely from between the mid-1920s and the 1940s. A second photograph, taken on 12 August 2005, shows a startlingly different view of the same location. In the area, the Northwestern Glacier has retreated more than 6.2 miles (10km) out of view. The aptly named Toboggan Glacier, meanwhile, with a gentle slope running down into water, is seen retreating during 103 years between 20 August 1905 and 22 August 2008. ‹ SLIDE ME › The aptly named Toboggan Glacier is seen on the left on 20 August 1905. 103 years later on 22 August 2008, right, it has almost completely disappeared ‹ SLIDE ME › One of the most dramatic pairs of images sees Pederson Glacier, pictured right in the mid-1920s to 1940s, replaced by vegetation including grasses and shrubs by 10 August 2005, seen on the right ‹ SLIDE ME › Not all the glaciers have been on the retreat. Harvard Glacier is seen on the left on 1 July 1909, but by 3 September 2000 - right - it had advanced 0.78 miles (1.25km) One of the most dramatic pairs of images is the Pederson Glacier, seen rapidly from the mid-1920s and 1940s to 10 August 2005. In its place, most of the lake has filled with sediment, and now supports several varieties of grasses, shrubs and aquatic plants. But not all the glaciers have been on the retreat. One, Harvard Glacier, has advanced 0.78 miles (1.25km) between 1 July 1909 and 3 September 2000, seen in a pair of images. Overall, though, the images highlight how the changing climate is having a rapid effect on a variety of ecosystems – and not necessarily for the better.

Antarctica in unprecedented detail: Most complete map ever made reveals the continent is shrinking rapidly The map was created by stitching together 3,150 individual satellite images taken over several months in 2008 It offers the most detailed view of the continent since 1997 and shows how large chunks of ice have disappeared The map is now available to the public for free online and a similar map of Greenland is currently being made Nasa claims vast glaciers in West Antarctica seem to be locked in an irreversible thaw linked to global warming A stunning new map that reveals a shrinking Antarctica in unprecedented detail has been made available to the public. The map, which was created by stitching together 3,150 individual satellite images, offers the most detailed view of the continent since 1997. By comparing it to earlier maps of the same regions, scientists have found large chunks of ice in the Antarctic disappearing into the surrounding waters. Scroll down for interactive map  +2 The map, which was created by stitching together 3,150 individual satellite images, offers the most detailed view of the continent since 1997. The Canadian Space Agency, along with the University of Waterloo, collected the images over several months in 2008 aboard the Radarsat-2 satellite The Canadian Space Agency, along with the University of Waterloo, collected the images over several months in 2008 aboard the Radarsat-2 satellite. This satellite was able to cut through cloud cover to get a more accurate reading. Its high-resolution images were then tiled together into a coast-to-coast view of the entire continent. 'These colours in a nutshell represent different physical characteristics of the ice, which the scientist can interpret,' Professor Ellsworth LeDrew, director of the Canadian Cryospheric Information Network, told Emily Gertz at Popular Science. 'It's what is called polarimetric information. It's like looking through a camera's polarising filter. Some wavelengths are up and down and some are side to side.' +2 This satellite was able to cut through cloud cover to get a more accurate reading. Its high-resolution images were then tiled together into a coast-to-coast view of the entire continent. This image shows a closeup view of Antarctica near the Ronne Ice Shelf ANTARCTIC BEGAN MELTING 5,000 YEARS EARLIER THAN THOUGHT The Antarctic ice sheet is more unstable than first thought with a recent study suggesting melting began 5,000 years earlier than previously believed. The study was conducted by an international team including researchers from Germany, Canada, Hawaii, Lapland and Australia.  It reveals that shrinking of the vast ice sheet accelerated during eight distinct periods between 20,000 and 9,000 years ago. During one period 14,600 years ago, melting glaciers released so many icebergs into the ocean that sea level rose 6.5ft (two metres) in just 100 years. The results provide the first clear evidence for dramatic melting in Antarctic's and reflect predictions for the region's future. It also follows recent news that destabilisation of part of the West Antarctic ice sheet has already begun and could be 'unstoppable.' Professor LeDrew added that scientists can use the data to show see where the edge of a glacier is, or where the ice is thinning as land bound glaciers expand towards the sea. Ships also use the information for navigation, he says. The map is currently available free of charge to the public online, via the Polar Data Catalogue. 'The Earth's polar regions are considered a bellwether for the effects of climate change,' said Professor LeDrew. 'When compared to the previous Antarctic mosaic, we can map changes in the icescape with unprecedented accuracy and confidence.' A similar mosaic for Greenland is currently underway and the researchers plan to continue creating mosaics of Antarctica every few years in order to track ice cover. Earlier this year, Nasa said vast glaciers in West Antarctica seem to be locked in an irreversible thaw linked to global warming that may push up sea levels for centuries. In a few hundred years they say the irreversible melt that has already started could eventually add four to 12ft (1.2 to 3.7m) to current sea levels. A Nasa study looking at 40 years of ground, airplane and satellite data of what researchers call 'the weak underbelly of West Antarctica' shows the melt is happening faster than scientists had predicted, crossing a critical threshold that has begun a domino-like process. Evidence shows 'a large sector of the West Antarctic ice sheet has gone into a state of irreversible retreat', says lead author Eric Rignot of the University of California, Irvine, and Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The coastal ends of the glaciers rest on bedrock below sea level, holding back a vast weight of ice and making them vulnerable to melt, he said. 'It does seem to be happening quickly,' says University of Washington glaciologist Ian Joughin, lead author of a separate study into the same phenomenon. 'We really are witnessing the beginning stages.'  Zoom in on this image to see the world's most complete map of Antarctica

OLD POSTCARDS AND THE NEW YORK TRANSFORMATION

 

These days we have Instagram filters and Facebook check-ins to induce envy in our friends. But before social media came along, the postcard was the ultimate holiday brag. To celebrate World Post Day on October 9, here is one of the world's largest postcard collections. Swiss entrepreneur Adolf Feller began collecting the souvenirs in 1899 during his travels for his electrical goods business. The collection contains more than 54,000 monochrome and colour photographs from 140 countries, including New Zealand, Japan, Uganda, and from cities and towns around Switzerland. Friends and family contributed to the collection, which Feller left to his daughter Elizabeth after his death in 1931. Some of the postcards were collated in a book published in 2011, 'The World in Pocket-Size Format: The Adolf Feller Postcard Collection,' by Monika Burri. The tradition of sending postcards to loved ones back home is steadily declining. Fewer than one billion are now sent each year, compared with more than 4.5 billion in 1951. +18 Picture perfect: To celebrate World Post Day, one of the world's largest postcard collections, by Adolf Feller, has been unveiled +18 Collector: Adolf Feller began collecting the souvenirs at the end of the 19th century during his travels for his electrical goods business +18 World traveller: The archives include postcards from Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and Uganda (pictured) +18 +18 Cultural difference: Feller's travels took him to Japan (left) and Bern (right) +18 Souvenirs: Feller travelled far and wide for work, always picking up a postcard in each destination, like this one in Zurich +18 Picturesque: Adolf's friends and family contributed to the collection with postcards such as this from Mount Etzel +18 Modern: As his family continued collecting, colour photographs, such as this one of New Zealand, appear in the collection +18 Scenic: This postcard depicts the mountains of Switzerland labelled with their respective elevations +18 Wish you were here! Feller collected this postcard of Menzingen, in Zug, Switzerland +18 Passed on: The collection was left to Feller's daughter Elizabeth after his death in 1931 +18 Artistic: This card features an oil painting of Etzel mountain +18 +18 Natural beauty: The postcards depict many beautiful scenes +18 High on a hill: A postcard featuring Tourbillon Castle, in Sion, Switzerland +18 Photographic: The snap is an overhead general view of  Ardon in Switzerland +18 +18 People and places: Adolf's collection isn't just landscapes - his souvenirs depict architecture, different cultures and events Dating back to the late 19th century and early 20th century – and now compiled in a book entitled An American Odyssey – they show the people and places of the New World, documenting Native Americans, African Americans, immigrants, cowboys and gold rushers. The photographs were taken between 1888 and 1924 and were made into postcards celebrating cities, landscapes and everyday life across the country. +15 Images such as this of Zuni Pueblo Indians carrying out a Rain Dance in New Mexico were produced using a photochrom process +15 Sunset from the Battery, New York: These postcards, dating back to the late 19th century and early 20th century and collected in a new book entitled An American Odyssey, show the people and places of the New World +15 Homestake Mine, South Dakota: These particular images were produced by the Detroit Photographic Company at the turn of the century Many of the images were produced using a photochrom process, taking black and white negatives and filling them with color by transferring them onto lithographic printing stones. Another process used was photostint, a way of tinting black and white and sepia images which was used by companies - including what was then known as the London Daily Mail - to print color postcards of important events, such as scenes from the First World War. These processes predated the autochrome by nearly 20 years and offered people the very first color photographs of The United States. Suddenly, the continent's colors were available for all to see. The rich ochres and browns of the Grand Canyon, the dazzle of Atlantic City, became a visual delight not only for eyewitnesses, but for Americans far and wide. +15 The Big Apple: Mulberry Street, the main thoroughfare in Manhattan, is brought to life with the photochrom process, showing the varying ethnicity of New Yorkers and a glimpse at their everyday lives +15 A Mississippi landing, Vicksburg: The colorful photochroms started out as glass negatives such as this +15 Laundry day: This unusual picture shows a Monday in New York City, when the streets were filled with clean washing being aired among the buildings +15 Feats of engineering: The Gerogetown Loop over Clear Creek Canyon in Colorado was hugely important to the nearby gold and silver mines at the start of the 20th century These spectacular postcards are from a private collection amassed by graphic designer, photographer, and collector Marc Walter. He specializes in vintage travel photographs and has one of the world's largest collections. These particular images were produced by the Detroit Photographic Company at the turn of the century, combining landscapes with human interest images for city dwellers, immigrants and even gold rushers and the last Wild West cowboys. The 612-page hardback book, published by Taschen, is a celebration of America and is considered a journey through its later 19th and early 20th-century landscapes. Photos include a busy city scene on Mulberry Street in New York, while another contrasts dramatically, capturing the rural life of a Seminole Indian family sailing in their dugout canoes in Florida. +15 Rainbow effect: The Grand Canyon is shown in all its glory with greens, rich reds and purples depicted by the photochrom technique +15 +15 'Three Graces', Yosemite National Park, California, left. The 612-page hardback book, published by Taschen, is a celebration of America and is considered a journey through its later 19th and early 20th-century landscapes, right +15 On track: Transport is a dominant theme throughout the images, showing America at the cutting edge of technology Magnolia Plantation, on the Ashely River in Charleston, is brought to life with the application of color to the image, while the Grand Canyon is also shown shimmering with color. Transport is also a leading theme in the postcards, featuring spectacular train journeys crossing Clear Creek Canyon, on Georgetown Loop in Colorado and the Mount Lowe Railway, on the circular bridge in California. Tourists can still ride on the Georgetown Loop railways, experiencing what life was like during the gold rush era, when everyone was trying to make their fortune. And spectacular National Parks such as the Grand Canyon still draw crowds, with millions of visitors every year. +15 Traditions: Members of the Seminole Tribe in Florida - whose history dates back to the early 1500s - are depicted in the dugout canoes in their elegant dress +15 Gold rush town: A glorious panorama shows the Californian city of San Francisco when it was still a relatively small settlement +15 Southern life: A magnolia plantation is shown in bloom on the edge of the Ashley River in Charleston with a local woman stood looking out over the water +15 These spectacular postcards are from a private collection amassed by graphic designer, photographer, and collector Marc Walter. He specializes in vintage travel photographs and has one of the world's largest collections

These vintage photographs capture a lost New York City, where streetcars barreled down Third Avenue, the Empire State Building was the tallest in town - and five cents could get you a a bag of fresh-roasted peanuts. Taken by legendary photographer Todd Webb in 1946, the collection of black and white images show the bustling docks of Manhattan, the skyline prior to its ever-rising glass-walled skyscrapers - and the people who called the city home. Webb was about 40 years old when he set out on foot around the city with his camera, having just returned from a posting as a Naval Photographer in the Second World War. Daily Mail online sent out photographer Edwin Torres to replicate present day photos of Todd Webb - and revealed where the Big Apple has undergone incredible transformation in the past 70 years - and where it has stayed, magically, unchanged. Scroll down for slides ‹ SLIDE ME › ‹ SLIDE ME › On the docks: The East River docks were once thronged with trade ships like in this scene from the Fulton Fish Market Wharf. Today, the fish market is gone and South Street Seaport abandoned while work on a $1.5billion redevelopment project has stalled�� ‹ SLIDE ME › Right, the view of downtown Manhattan from the Empire State Building in 1946 and, left, the view in 2015 from the Empire State Building. Today's viewpoint is at a slightly higher angle as Todd photographed from the 49th floor which is now office space. The current observatory is on the 86th floor ‹ SLIDE ME › The intersection at Pike Street and Madison Street, looking south towards the Manhattan Bridge. Tenement housing from the 1940s has now been replaced with a large public housing complex As well as the iconic sights and architecture of the metropolis, Webb's images also took in locals around his Harlem neighborhood, and working folk in downtown Manhattan around Chinatown and the Battery Park. The images have been dusted off from the archives and published in a limited-edition collection,21st Editions. According to photography experts, Webb, who won a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1955, was notable in getting to know the subjects of his portraits before shooting - sometimes spending days talking to people before taking a picture. In an introduction to the images, Harvard professor John Stauffer wrote how Webb was also an unusual photographer for his time, taking an interest in picturing African-Americans and interracial friendships. Although 1946 was blighted by the death of his mentor, photographer and modern art promoter Alfred Stieglitz, Webb - who died in 2000 - remembered it as one of best and most productive years. ‹ SLIDE ME › Right, traders on Suffolk Street near Chinatown in downtown Manhattan. Although the store name in the 1946 picture is not visible, the 2015 shot reveals that Streit's has supposedly been open since 1925. And while transportation may have moved on from carts to forklifts, the street remains one-way, 70 years later ‹ SLIDE ME › Right, the intersection at 2nd Avenue and East 50th Street shows the Chrysler Building, not yet surrounded by other Midtown high rises. Left, the Chrysler is obscured today by multiple tower blocks and the traffic now flows in one direction downtown +21 Old smokey days: This collection of photographs by Todd Webb has been republished - the above showing the New York City skyline in 1946, when the Empire State Building (right) and Chrysler building (center left) were still the tallest two structures in the metropolis +21 The photographer found these boys on a street in Harlem, and asked them to pose for him. Todd Webb often spent days coaxing subjects to be part of his iconic images +21 Pals: This photograph, called 123rd Street (Boys with Toy Gun) shows a black child and white friends playing in Harlem. Webb's writings show how he despised racism - describing seeing 'Whites Only' signs on a visit to the segregated South 'hard to take' +21 This photo, called 'The Circle,' LaSalle at Amsterdam, shows a group of black and white children playing together around a burst waterpipe +21 +21 Harlem scenes: These photographs a hat store in Harlem's 125th street, and the nearby offices of The People's Voice, a weekly black newspaper, with a local standing outside. The paper had just moved offices +21 Working man: Taken close to Battery Park in downtown Manhtattan, this image shows a local tradesman selling roasted peanuts on the street for five cents a bag +21 Fine motor: This image shows the car of Lamar Perkins, a prominent Harlem citizen and New York state's assistant attorney general +21 To Brooklyn: Todd Webb took this photograph the first time he walked over the Brooklyn Bridge - with only enough film for six frames. When he returned the next day with more, officials were enforcing a photography ban - so he had to turn back +21 The Brooklyn Bridge today looks much the same - but the still wooden path has been marked out for cyclists and walkers +21 +21 The images show yesteryear NYC transportation, including the image to the left of the now-demolished Third Avenue El train metro line, with a street car running underneath. To the right, a photograph taken at the interaction of Second Avenue and 50th Street shows the Chrysler Building standing tall, not yet surrounded by other midtown high-rises +21 The intersection of Second Avenue and East 50th Street (which shows the same scene as above, right). The Chrysler building is now obscured by apartment blocks +21 From the docks: The photographs show how Manhattan's ports and piers still thronged with trade ships. This is the scene from the Fulton Fish Market Wharf +21 Today, the fish market is gone and South Street Seaport abandoned while work on a $1.5billion redevelopment project has stalled +21 Famous: This image, published in Fortune magazine, shows the view of downtown Manhattan from the Empire State Building - then the highest view in the city. The same vista would now be dominated by the World Trade Center's Freedom Tower +21 Today's viewpoint from the Empire State Building is at a slightly higher angle as Todd photographed from the 49th floor which is now office space. The current observatory is on the 86th floor +21 Towering: This photograph, taken at the intersection of Madison Street and Pike Street, shows the view south towards the Manhattan Bridge +21 The intersection at Pike Street and Madison Street, looking south towards the Manhattan Bridge. Tenement housing from the 1940s has now been replaced with a large public housing complex +21 Commerce: This image shows traders on Suffolk Street, near Manhattan's Chinatown. There are street markets, pushcarts parked end to end in front of the endless rows of small stores +21 This is the same location from Todd Webb's 1946 photograph on Suffolk and Hester streets where shoppers purchase goods from a street cart in front of the corner store

 

http://