July 3, 2022 - Fresh Snow in the Andes
Snow in the Andes
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On June 25-27, 2022, an early winter storm brought a layer of fresh
snow to the central Andes Mountains.
On June 30, three days after the skies cleared, the Moderate Resolution
Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite
acquired a true-color image showing a bright white blanket of snow atop
the high elevations straddling both Chile (west) and Argentina (east).
A gorgeous bank of marine stratocumulus cloud covered the Pacific Ocean
while low cloud (fog) crept over part of Chile’s coastal plain.
According to a report published on June 30 by Ski Portillo, a ski
resort located near the bottom of the image, 150 cm (59 in) of snow had
fallen this season. Ski Portillo opened on June 16.
The Andes—the longest series of mountain ranges the world—span about
7,242 kilometers (4,500 miles) and runs through seven countries. The
area captured in the image extends about 870 km (540 mi) from north to
south.
The snowpack that accumulates atop this extraordinary mountain chain
each winter is extremely important for many reasons, including the fact
that it provides the primary source of water for communities at lower
altitudes. In both Chile and Argentina, springtime and summertime
meltwater fill the streams that cascade off the mountains, filling
reservoirs used for drinking water, power generation, and agriculture.
In the central Andes, the winter snowfall is so generous that a light
blanket of snow lingers most of the summer. This summer snowcover plays
another important role: protecting glaciers. Fresh snow is highly
reflective, preventing underlying glacial ice from absorbing the Sun’s
energy, warming up, and melting.
During this past summer, the snow across most of the mountaintops
melted early, the result of a dry winter and a January 2022 heatwave
that sent temperatures soaring to 40°C (104°F) in some locations,
creating conditions ripe for rapid glacial melting.
On June 14, 2022, NASA’s Earth Observatory published an Image of the
Day that discussed the January 2022 heatwave and the impact on the
glaciers of the Andes. Entitled “Losing a Layer of Protection”, that
story can be found by clicking here.
Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 6/30/2022
Resolutions: 1km (1.1 MB), 500m (3 MB), 250m (2.3 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-07-03
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