Deep crack statement signals from the ice are dramatic drops. After a few seconds, a chunk of ice is about 70 meters high (the size of a 20-story building) pours the aquamarine water below from the surface of the Perito Moreno glacier.
Over the years, the sight has attracted tourists from Argentina's most famous glacier. They stood on a platform facing the ice, waiting for the next crack to split the cool Patagonian air.
But recently, the size of the ice has broken through – a process called “calving” – that began to intimidate by local guides and glacologists, and already anxious about the prolonged retreat of Perito Moreno, which has maintained the trend by maintaining its mass in recent decades, even if the rapid emanation of faster glacier melting around the world.
“Ice calving incidents of this scale have not been common in Perito Moreno glaciers over the past 20 years,” said Pablo Quinteros, a formal travel guide to Los Glaciares National Park in Santa Cruz Province.
“It is only in the last four to six years that we have begun to see the icebergs so big,” he told Reuters in an April interview.
Visitors have long been heading to Argentina's Los Glaciares National Park to see the famous Perito Moreno glacier. However, the size of the recent “calving” incident, where most of the ice erupted from major glaciers, triggered alarm from local experts and glacologists.
The faces of the glacier flowed from the Andean Peaks to the end of the Argentine lake, more or less stable for decades, some years while others retreated. But there has been a more determined retreat over the past five years.
“It has been more or less the same position for the past 80 years. It's unusual,” said Argentine glacologist Lucas Ruiz.
“However, since 2020, signs of retreat have begun to be seen in some parts of the Perito Moreno glacier face.”
He said the glacier could rebound as before, but it currently loses between one meter a year, and if it does not reverse, it may lead to a situation where the loss is accelerated.
A state-backed 2024 report co-authored by Ruiz shows that although Perito Moreno's mass has stabilized for half a century overall, this period has been the fastest and longest mass loss in 47 years since 2015, with an average annual loss of 0.85 meters.
According to a UNESCO report, glaciers have disappeared faster than ever before, with the most losses in the last three years of glacier populations.
“You can’t grasp its hugeness
Ruiz said the musical instruments his research team used to monitor glaciers showed that in the area around 0.06 c per decade, air temperatures increased and precipitation decreased, meaning less snowfall and ice accumulation.
“The thing about being with Perito Moreno is that it took a while to feel the effects of climate change, so to speak. But now, the accumulation of ice at the top of the glacier is overwhelmed by melting and calving at the bottom.
“The changes we see today clearly show that this balance of power has been destroyed and today, glaciers are lost in thickness and region.”
For now, glaciers remain an awesome attraction for travelers, as they boarded the boat and saw calves and huge icebergs surrounding the lake along the lake.
Brazilian travel Giovanna Machado said on the deck of one of the ships: “It's crazy. The most incredible thing I've ever seen.”
“Even in the photos, you can't grasp the magnitude of it, it's perfect. It's amazing. I think everyone should be here at least once in their life.”
