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 detailed 3D model of the remaining ice.