Expedition Captures the Final Days of Oceania's Last Tropical Glaciers in 'Planetary Destruction on Fast Forward'

This 3D model captures a rare tropical glacier before it’s gone

When Klaus Thymann flew nearly 15,000 feet up into Indonesia’s remote highlands last November, he was racing to document ice that few people realize exists. Near the summit of Puncak Jaya, the country’s highest mountain, some of the world’s last tropical glaciers are rapidly disappearing. [Photo: Klaus Thymann] “We stand now to lose these glaciers within a decade,” says Thymann, an explorer, photographer, and scientist who spent days creating a …

Expedition captures the final days of Oceania's last tropical glaciers in 'planetary destruction on fast forward'

An expedition to Indonesia's West Papua region has produced grim new evidence that Oceania's last tropical glaciers are nearing their end. Researchers say the remaining "eternal snow" on Puncak Jaya has shrunk so dramatically that its disappearance is no longer a distant threat but a reality unfolding now. What's happening? A team led by Klaus Thymann of Project Pressure traveled to the remote mountain in November to document Oceania's last two …