European Space Agency Captures Before And After Images Of One Of The Largest Avalanches Ever Recorded
On July 17, 2016 a massive avalanche consisting of 100 million cubic meters of ice and rock tumbled out of the Aru Range in western Tibet and crashed to the valley floor. The avalanche debris was up to 30 meters deep and covered 4 square mile or 2,500 acres. Our original post on this avalanche reported that 9 people, 110 yaks, and 350 sheep from Dungru were killed in this tragedy.
According to SpaceRef.com, “A multispectral imager on the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellite captured an image of the debris field on July 21, 2016. The Operational Land Imager, a similar instrument on Landsat 8, acquired an image on June 24, 2016, that shows the same area before the avalanche.”
Below you will see before and after images from this massive Tibetan avalanche. Wow.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Scientists are fascinated with this avalanche as it is one of the largest ice avalanches ever recorded. An entire glacier tongue broke off in a relatively flat area. The cause of the avalanche is still unclear. Warm temperatures and precipitation that may be linked to human-caused global warming may be to blame.
Read more about the massive avalanche in the Aru Range of Tibet from these sources:
See Also:
- Watch Huge Avalanche On North Face Of Z1 In Zanskar Valley In Indian Himalaya
- Avalanche Kills 9 People, 110 Yaks, and 350 Sheep In Western Tibet
- Global Avalanche Fatalities During Winter of 2015/2016
