East Northwall Firn

The East Northwall Firn was a glacier on Mount Carstensz in the Sudirman Range on the island of New Guinea in Central Papua province, Indonesia.

Situated at an elevation of approximately 4,750 metres (15,580 ft) 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) NNW of Puncak Jaya, the highest summit in Oceania.

Research presented in 2004 of IKONOS satellite imagery of the New Guinean glaciers indicated that in the two years from 2000 to 2002, the East Northwall Firn had lost a further 4.5% of its surface area.

At that rate, the remaining glaciers in the immediate region near Puncak Jaya were expected to last only to the year 2015.

[2] The East Northwall Firn glaciers are remnants of an icecap that in 1850 measured about 20 km2 (7.7 sq mi) and had developed approximately 5,000 years ago.

Puncak Jaya region icecap in 1936.
Puncak Jaya glaciers in 1972. Left to right: West Northwall Firn, East Northwall Firn, Meren Glacier , and Carstensz Glacier . The first and third have now disappeared. See also animation.