To the untrained eye, Antarctica may look like a giant piece of solid ice that rarely changes, but scientists studying the continent have long known better. The icy surface is dynamic, with glaciers and "streams" of ice flowing toward the ocean.
Published Apr 27, 2007
A slab of ice larger than the continental United States smothers much of East Antarctica. Draining from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is a river of ice nearly 800 kilometers long. This stream, the Recovery Ice Stream, slides roughly 35 billion tons of ice into the ocean each year.
Published Apr 26, 2007
Researchers working in Antarctica have found evidence of large-scale ice making at the bottom of that continent's massive ice sheets.
Published Apr 21, 2011
This approximately true-color image shows ice fragments left over from previous breakups of the Wilkins Ice Shelf.
Published Apr 19, 2009
This image shows the latest estimate of the ice edge around Law Promontory, which juts out from East Antarctica’s coastline near Stefansson Bay.
Published Jul 23, 2010
By 2090, the scale could tilt in the favor of ice loss instead of buildup.
Published Jan 31, 2017Image of the Day Heat Human Presence Snow and Ice Remote Sensing
New elevation measurements will give researchers an unprecedented understanding of the thickness of sea ice, which will be used to help improve climate modeling and forecasts.
Published Dec 18, 2018
Thick ice that used to last through multiple summers has been in steep decline for three decades.
Published Mar 1, 2012
Acquired October 7, 2011, this natural-color image shows an ice menagerie off the coast of East Antarctica.
Published Oct 23, 2011
A diamond-shaped piece of ice is a stranger amid thin ice.
Published Mar 1, 2017
While most scientific and public attention goes to glaciers, lake and river ice have interesting stories to tell as well.
Published Jul 5, 2017
In 1984, there were 1.86 million square kilometers of old ice spread across the Arctic at its yearly minimum extent. In September 2016, there were only 110,000 square kilometers of old ice left.
Published Nov 4, 2016
Scientists mapped the motion of Antarctica’s ice sheets and revealed unexpected patterns.
Published Aug 19, 2011
An area of sea ice larger than the state of Rhode Island can be seen breaking from the Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf in this series of photo-like images.
Published Jan 15, 2010
Changing weather conditions left their mark on sea ice along the Antarctic Peninsula in late 2008 and early 2009. In mid-December 2008, melt water resting on the sea ice colored it sky blue. At the beginning of 2009, however, the sea ice appeared snowy white, and cracks had begun along the ice margin.
Published Jan 9, 2009
