When this closely watched slab of floating ice births a giant iceberg, it will not be the first time it has seen dramatic change.
Published Feb 7, 2017Image of the Day Heat Land Water Snow and Ice Sea and Lake Ice
Ice shelves are thick slabs of ice that are attached to coastlines and extend out over the ocean. In the natural course of events, ice shelves often calve large icebergs. On February 28, 2008, however, the Wilkins Ice Shelf rapidly disintegrated into small pieces.
Published Mar 27, 2008
Wave action and glacial dynamics split another chunk of ice off of the Antarctic Peninsula in March 2013.
Published May 25, 2013
Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery analyzed at the University of Colorado’s National Snow and Ice Data Center revealed that the northern section of the Larsen B ice shelf, a large floating ice mass on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula, has shattered and separated from the continent. This particular image was taken on March 5, 2002.
Published Mar 20, 2002
Acquired in 2003, 2004,and 2005, these images show an intermittently ice-filled bay in the wake of the 2002 collapse of the Larsen B Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula.
Published Apr 9, 2010
This trio of images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite shows the rapid break up of the Serson Ice Shelf between July 28 and July 31.
Published Sep 11, 2008
n late February 2008, an ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula disintegrated into a floating pile of massive ice bergs, smaller ice fragments, and slush that was trapped in place by freezing sea water over subsequent weeks. This highly detailed image from the Taiwanese Formosat-2 satellite shows the different sizes, shapes, and textures of the ice fragments on March 8, 2008.
Published Mar 28, 2008
Cracks growing across the ice shelf are poised to release an iceberg about twice size of New York City.
Published Feb 19, 2019
A narrow ice bridge connecting Charcot Island and Latady Island broke apart in April 2009.
Published Apr 8, 2009
This approximately true-color image shows ice fragments left over from previous breakups of the Wilkins Ice Shelf.
Published Apr 19, 2009
