Melting glacier creates a new island in Alaska, satellite images show

A melting glacier in southeastern Alaska has birthed a brand-new island in the middle of a growing lake, according to recent images captured by NASA satellites

A melting glacier in southeastern Alaska has birthed a brand-new island in the middle of a growing lake, according to recent images captured by NASA satellites.

The 2-square-mile island is a small mountain known as Prow Knob, which was once surrounded by a frozen expanse known as the Alsek Glacier. As the glacier thawed and retreated, meltwater flooded the region.

This summer, satellites observed Prow Knob as it was finally stranded as a lone landmass within the expanding Alsek Lake.

This type of transformation is a hallmark of climate change, as rising temperatures and melting ice reshape coastlines around the world and sometimes alter landscapes in dramatic ways.

NASA’s Landsat 5 satellite snapped images of Prow Knob in July 1984, showing that part of the mountain’s western perimeter touched the lakeshore. The rest, however, was enveloped by the mass of ice that made up the Alsek Glacier.