Glacier Observatory
Scientific inventories, multi-decadal satellite observation comparisons, and morphological baselines from the Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI 7.0) and GLIMS.
Siachen Glacier
Karakoram Range
Siachen Glacier is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and the second-longest non-polar glacier in the world, stretching over 76 kilometres from the Indira Col on the China border southward to its terminus at the Nubra River valley.
Biafo Glacier
Karakoram Range
Connecting with the Hispar Glacier at the 5,128-metre Hispar La pass, the Biafo Glacier creates a continuous 100-kilometre glacial highway. At its head lies Snow Lake (Lukpe Lawo), a 16-kilometre-wide basin of perpetual ice first mapped in 1892 by Martin Conway.
Baltoro Glacier
Karakoram Range
The Baltoro Glacier is one of the longest non-polar alpine valley glaciers on Earth, spanning approximately 63 kilometres through Pakistan's Central Karakoram National Park. Originating in high-altitude cirques beneath K2, Broad Peak, and the Gasherbrum group, it coalesces at Concordia, creating one of the most topographically dramatic glaciated amphitheatres in the world.
Perito Moreno Glacier
Andes
Perito Moreno is one of the premier glaciological wonders of South America, terminating in a towering 70-metre-high wall of active calving ice on Lago Argentino. Fed by the Southern Patagonian Icefield, it has historically maintained near-steady equilibrium despite regional warming trends.
Godwin-Austen Glacier
Karakoram Range
Flowing directly from the northeast and southeast shoulders of K2, the Godwin-Austen Glacier is the primary highway for climbers approaching K2 and Broad Peak Base Camps. It joins the Baltoro Glacier at the famous intersection of Concordia.
Khumbu Glacier
Himalayan Range
The Khumbu Glacier is the highest glacier in the world, originating in the colossal Western Cwm amphitheatre beneath the summit pyramid of Mount Everest and Lhotse Face. Spanning 12 kilometres, it tumbles through the notorious Khumbu Icefall—a chaotic maze of moving ice seracs and crevasses—before terminating above Dughla in Nepal.
Mer de Glace
mont-blanc-massif
The Mer de Glace ('Sea of Ice') is the longest glacier in France, cascading down the northern flanks of the Mont Blanc massif. It is one of the most thoroughly surveyed alpine glaciers in scientific history, with historical records dating back to 1741.
Polish Glacier
Andes
Draping the eastern flank of Mount Aconcagua between 5,800 and 6,700 metres, the Polish Glacier was famously pioneered in 1934 by a Polish expedition. It represents one of the highest true hanging ice glaciers in the Western Hemisphere.
Glaciological Standards & Inventory Methodology
What is the Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI 7.0)?
The Randolph Glacier Inventory is a globally complete digital dataset of glacier outlines created by the working group of the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS) and GLIMS. It serves as a historical morphological baseline and should not be confused with real-time retreat tracking.
Why are Karakoram glaciers behaving differently from Himalayan glaciers?
Termed the 'Karakoram Anomaly', glaciers across the central Karakoram (like Baltoro and Biafo) have exhibited relative terminus stability or slight surge cycles. Thick supraglacial debris shields the ice from solar ablation, while heavy winter precipitation in the upper accumulation zones maintains steady mass balances.