The Southern Patagonian Icefield is the largest expanse of ice in the Southern Hemisphere outside of Antarctica. The mass of glacial ice extends hundreds of kilometers along the spine of the Andes, feeding dozens of dynamic outlet glaciers that grind their way down from higher elevations. Many of these rivers of ice terminate in the sea or in proglacial lakes .
南巴塔哥尼亚冰原是南半球除南极洲以外最大的冰原。大量的冰川沿着安第斯山脉的脊椎延伸数百公里，为数十个动态的出口冰川提供了水源，这些冰川从较高的海拔处磨碎下来。许多冰河的终点是海洋或前冰湖。
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station photographed one of these glaciers—Tyndall Glacier in southern Chile—through a layer of ethereal clouds on May 10, 2026. Fragments of ice that had calved off its terminus were visible floating on Lago Geikie.
2026 年 5 月 10 日，国际空间站上的一名宇航员透过一层飘逸的云层拍摄了其中一个冰川——智利南部的廷德尔冰川。在盖基湖上漂浮着从其终点崩解的冰碎片。
Like most Patagonian glaciers, Tyndall has been shrinking since the end of the Little Ice Age about 150 years ago. Lago Geikie formed at Tyndall’s terminus around 1940 , according to glaciologist Mauri Pelto of Nichols College, and gradually expanded as the ice retreated. Part of the glacier previously terminated in Lago Tyndall to the east, but thinning ice cut off that outlet by 2010, Pelto said. (The ice’s retreat also exposed bedrock along its eastern edge that contains scores of ichthyosaur fossils.)
与大多数巴塔哥尼亚冰川一样，自大约 150 年前小冰河时代结束以来，廷德尔冰川一直在萎缩。据尼科尔斯学院的冰川学家莫里·佩尔托 (Mauri Pelto) 称，盖基湖于 1940 年左右在廷德尔的终点站形成，并随着冰层消退而逐渐扩大。佩尔托说，部分冰川此前终止于东部的廷德尔湖，但到 2010 年，冰川变薄切断了该出口。 （冰层的退缩还暴露了其东部边缘的基岩，其中含有大量鱼龙化石。）
Along with thinning, ice calving off the glacier’s front has reduced its volume. Tyndall has lost 2.2 kilometers (1.4 miles) in length since November 2022, Pelto said, following about a decade of limited retreat with considerable thinning. A significant calving event in March and April 2023 contributed to the recent uptick in ice retreat. During that time, satellites observed several large icebergs breaking away from Tyndall’s terminus.
随着冰川变薄，冰川前部的冰崩解也减少了其体积。佩尔托说，自 2022 年 11 月以来，廷德尔的长度已经减少了 2.2 公里（1.4 英里），经过大约十年的有限后退和相当大的稀疏化。 2023 年 3 月和 4 月发生的一次重大冰崩事件导致近期冰消退量增加。在那段时间里，卫星观察到几座巨大的冰山从廷德尔的终点站脱离。
Austral autumn in 2026 was a time of active calving retreat at Tyndall (and some neighboring glaciers), Pelto said , albeit more incremental than three years prior. “The substantial crevasses crisscrossing the glacier near the calving front lead to many smaller icebergs,” he said. On the other hand, larger tabular icebergs tend to form when there are fewer deep crevasses near the terminus and the glacier’s ice is thinner.
佩尔托说，2026 年的澳大利亚秋季是廷德尔冰川（以及一些邻近冰川）活跃消退的时期，尽管比三年前有所增加。 “崩解前缘附近冰川纵横交错的巨大裂缝导致了许多较小的冰山，”他说。另一方面，当终点附近的深裂缝较少且冰川的冰较薄时，往往会形成较大的板状冰山。
The ice cliff at the terminus casts a substantial shadow, which can help scientists estimate the height of the glacier’s front. Pelto’s calculations, using information about the Sun’s position provided with the image , indicate that Tyndall’s front loomed 30–40 meters (100–130 feet) above the lake surface in May 2026. Observations from orbit, including astronaut photographs, can help scientists monitor and understand glaciers in remote regions where ground-based observations are scarce.
终点站的冰崖投射出巨大的阴影，可以帮助科学家估计冰川前沿的高度。佩尔托利用图像中提供的有关太阳位置的信息进行计算，表明 2026 年 5 月，廷德尔锋在湖面上方 30-40 米（100-130 英尺）处隐约可见。轨道观测（包括宇航员照片）可以帮助科学家监测和了解地面观测稀缺的偏远地区的冰川。
As for what comes next for Tyndall, Pelto expects many more small icebergs to continue breaking off, given the heavily crevassed appearance of the calving front. “Look for a burst of iceberg production next fall.”
至于廷德尔接下来会发生什么，佩尔托预计，鉴于崩解前缘的严重裂缝，佩尔托预计会有更多小冰山继续崩解。 “预计明年秋天冰山产量将会激增。”
Astronaut photograph ISS074-E-582898 was acquired on May 10, 2026, with a Nikon Z9 digital camera using a focal length of 560 millimeters. It is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at NASA Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 74 crew . The image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth . Story by Lindsey Doermann.
宇航员照片 ISS074-E-582898 于 2026 年 5 月 10 日使用尼康 Z9 数码相机拍摄，焦距为 560 毫米。它由国际空间站机组人员地球观测设施和美国宇航局约翰逊航天中心的地球科学与遥感部门提供。这张照片是由 Expedition 74 号船员拍摄的。图像经过裁剪和增强以提高对比度，并且镜头伪影已被消除。国际空间站计划支持该实验室作为国际空间站国家实验室的一部分，帮助宇航员拍摄对科学家和公众最有价值的地球照片，并将这些图像在互联网上免费提供。宇航员拍摄的其他图像可以在 NASA/JSC 地球宇航员摄影网关查看。林赛·杜尔曼的故事。