Racing Stripes | EROS

Glaciers move slowly, but Bear Glacier seems to have racing stripes. Glaciers pick up dirt and debris from the rocks they pass. They deposit that material in accumulations called moraines. A lateral moraine is the material on the sides of a glacier.

Two glaciers flowing together form a medial moraine in the middle where they join and show up as those dark stripes. When a glacier has a medial moraine, it’s made up of more than one ice flow.

Imagery

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Aug. 10, 1976, Landsat 2 (path/row 74/18) — Bear Glacier, Alaska, USA

June 18, 1984, Landsat 5 (path/row 69/18) — Bear Glacier, Alaska, USA

Sep. 27, 1994, Landsat 5 (path/row 68/18) — Bear Glacier, Alaska, USA

July 1, 2000, Landsat 7 (path/row 68/18) — Bear Glacier, Alaska, USA

Aug. 5, 2001, Landsat 7 (path/row 68/18) — Bear Glacier, Alaska, USA

June 21, 2005, Landsat 5 (path/row 68/18) — Bear Glacier, Alaska, USA

July 21, 2007, Landsat 7 (path/row 68/18) — Bear Glacier, Alaska, USA

Sep. 15, 2010, Landsat 7 (path/row 68/18) — Bear Glacier, Alaska, USA

Sep. 2, 2014, Landsat 8 (path/row 68/18) — Bear Glacier, Alaska, USA

Sep. 4, 2018, Landsat 8 (path/row 69/18) — Bear Glacier, Alaska, USA

Sept. 9, 2020, Landsat 8 (path/row 69/18) — Bear Glacier, Alaska, USA

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