'Last chance for humanity': the cold reality of monitoring global heating on a glacier

Scientists on Union glacier in Antarctica fear the region is reaching a dangerous tipping point? Words and photographs by James Whitlow DelanoEvery time Dr Ricardo Ja?a crosses the turbulent seas that separate Chile from Antarctica, it feels like his first time. The glaciologist at the Chilean Antarctic Institute (Inach) has sailed each year for 12 years through the Drake Passage, where the prevailing westerly winds, unimpeded by any land mass, raise the waters in chaotic waves that lash his boat."I feel powerless and resigned to the forces of nature," says Ja?a, who is the research chief at the Union Glacier Joint Scientific Polar Station.Ja?a skis around the glacier making global navigation satellite system measurements Continue reading...