The Perito Moreno Glacier, located in the Los Glaciares National Park in Santa Cruz, has begun to show a significant retreat visible from space. Images from the European Copernicus program’s Sentinel-2 satellite, along with research from 2026, confirm that this glacier is no longer stable, as it was in the past.
Satellite images captured on June 30 reveal the retreat in the Rico Arm of Lake Argentino compared to 2016. This change coincides with glaciology studies conducted in recent years, highlighting a sustained trend of mass loss since 2016, notably accelerated since 2020.
Impact of global warming on the Perito Moreno Glacier
The ice fields of Patagonia, which comprise the largest reserve of solid freshwater in South America, are critical for understanding regional climate variability. Recent studies have confirmed that the Perito Moreno has retreated approximately 800 meters in seven years, which concerns scientists.
Research from the University of Concepción in Chile and the Birla Institute of Technology Mesra in India, published in Progress in Physical Geography, have used Landsat satellite images from 1997 to 2023 to track this retreat. Specialists analyzed frontal displacements, area loss, and retreat speed.
The study highlights that the glacier was relatively stable until 2016, but since then has begun an accelerated retreat, reaching 55 meters per year. In 2025, the glacier retreated 385 meters in Lake Argentino, the largest recorded in the observation period.
Since 1997, the Perito Moreno has lost about 3 km² of its surface, approximately 1% of its original area. This retreat has accelerated in recent years, indicating a concerning change in its behavior.
According to Rodrigo Abarca del Río from the University of Concepción, the Perito Moreno has been a glaciological exception due to its stability. However, this retreat could indicate a change in behavior in one of the region’s most emblematic glaciers.
Research published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters by scientists from Argentina and Japan also points to the loss of a submerged moraine that acted as a natural barrier for the glacier. Without this structure, the glacier has increased its speed towards the lake, accelerating its retreat.
Between 2020 and 2023, the volume loss intensified, with more than 800 meters of glacier front retreat recorded since 2019. This change is crucial for predicting the future of other Patagonian glaciers.
Global warming, driven by greenhouse gas emissions, is melting glaciers at an unprecedented rate, affecting ecosystems, freshwater reserves, and contributing to rising sea levels.
