Canadian Arctic

NASA

A Bare Summer for Barnes Ice Cap

Meltwater ponds in vivid blue pools on the surface of the Barnes Ice Cap’s southwest side in this July 12, 2026, image from the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9. NASA Earth Observatory/Lauren Dauphin For most of the year, the Barnes Ice Cap in the Canadian Arctic lies quiet under a blanket of snow. By summer, that snow melts back, and the ice…