Folds in the lower reaches of valley glaciers can be caused by powerful surges of tributary ice streams. This phenomenon is spectacularly displayed by the Susitna Glacier in the Alaska Range. In this ASTER image, vegetation appears in shades of red, snow is white, and glacial ice is blue. Where the ice is covered by debris, the glacier appears brown. The image covers an area of 26 x 26 km, was acquired August 27, 2009, and is centered near 63.5 degrees north latitude, 147 degrees west longitude.
With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet. ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on Terra. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Photo credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
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