Svalbard

1992

2009

On 21 July 2009, we were able to relocate the exact site of a photograph taken in 1992, before the summer melting had set in. Despite the snow cover in the older photo, the massive glacier recession is evident (the 1992 glacier margins are highlighted in orange). Kongsbreen, the glacier in the foreground, has receded so much that its calving front is on the right, outside the 2009 photo. Only some dead ice remains between the moraine in the foreground and the prominent iceberg. Conwaybreen, in the middle background, has also receded and thinned considerably. Thinning is also evident in the two small valley glaciers in the far background (MH).