Belcher Islands - September 21st, 2001  Description: Like sweeping brushstrokes of pink and green, the Belcher Islands meander across the deep blue of Canada's Hudson Bay. The islands' only inhabitants live in the small town of Sanikiluaq, near the upper end of the middle island. Despite the green hues in this image, these rocky islands are too cold to sustain more than a smattering of low-growing vegetation.  Credit: USGS/NASA/Landsat 5  To learn more about the Landsat satellite go to: <a href="http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/" rel="nofollow">landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/</a>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Join us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>
Belcher Islands
The Belcher Islands are an archipelago in Hudson Bay in Canada, belonging to the territory of Nunavit. The hamlet of Sanikiluaq is on the north coast of Flaherty Island. This image was acquired by NASA Terra satellite on 18 September 2006.
Belcher Islands, Canada
This ice cave in Belcher Glacier (Devon Island, Canada) was formed by melt water flowing within the glacier ice.  To learn about the contributions of glaciers to sea level rise, visit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/glacier-sea-rise.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/glacier-sea-rise.html</a>  Credit: Angus Duncan, University of Saskatchewan  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Glaciers and Sea Level Rise
Each winter sea ice forms over the salty waters of frigid northeastern Canada's Hudson Bay. As sunlight lengthens and weather warms, ice begins to break up and melt, with retreat typically starting in May and melt-out completed sometime in July. Since the 1970s, the timing of sea ice breakup in Hudson Bay has changed, with melting beginning earlier in the spring.  The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this a true-color image of Hudson Bay on March 26, 2013. Although snow still covers the surrounding land, ice has already begun to retreat from much of the eastern shore of the Bay visible in the image.  A ring of bright white ice remains solidly frozen around the Belcher Islands in the southeast section of the Bay, but this ring is surrounded by blue waters and large chunks of ice. In the southwest, a similar situation is seen at Akimiski Island. The shelf of bright white ice gives way to open water in the south, as well as fractured, blue-tinted ice. The blue tint generally indicates water logging as ice begins to soften.  The Aqua satellite captured a similar image of early ice melt on Hudson Bay on April 6, 2012. That image can be viewed at: <a href="http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2012-04-19" rel="nofollow">modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2012-0...</a>   <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Eastern Hudson Bay, Canada