--> Abstract: Retreat of the Equatorial Glaciers of Irian Jaya (Western New Guinea), Indonesia: New Data from SPOT Imagery, by A. Quarles Van Ufford; #90987 (1993).

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QUARLES VAN UFFORD, ANDREW, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

ABSTRACT: Retreat of the Equatorial Glaciers of Irian Jaya (Western New Guinea), Indonesia: New Data from SPOT Imagery

Kenya, the South America Andes and the Puncak Jaya massif of Irian Jaya, are the only remaining equatorial glacier fields in the world. A hard copy, multispectral SPOT image from July 1987 was used to determine the modern areal extent of the ice masses surrounding the Puncak Jaya massif (4 degrees 05'S, 137 degrees 11'E, maximum elevation 4884 m). These data were compared to accurate historical data (cairns and photographs from 1936 to 1976) compiled by Allison and Peterson (1989). The location of the foot of the ice masses is accurate to +/- 50 meters, despite topographically introduced distortions in the imagery.

Glaciers and ice fields of the Puncak Jaya massif have reduced significantly (>50%) in size. In 1936 there was one major ice field. By 1987 this field had become dissected into four smaller ice masses. Though there is evidence (moraines) of widespread (>2-5 times modern area) of recent glaciation, three out of the four major, modern ice masses may no longer be true glaciers. From field observations in 1991, the Carstensz glacier is the only ice mass with crevasses indicating active flow.

Horizontal retreat rates are determined for periods when the areal extent of the ice mass was observed six times between 1936 and 1987. The Meren glacier retreated horizontally 1.9 km, at an overall rate of 38 m/year. Retreat rates are 31 m/year for 1936-1962, 48 m/year for 1962-1974 and 42 m/year for 1974-1987. The steady retreat of the Meren glacier accords with observations from most other glaciated regions.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90987©1993 AAPG Annual Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 25-28, 1993.