The MODIS instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this clear view of the Antarctic Peninsula, the Larsen Ice Shelf, and the sea ice covered waters around the region in October 2011.
A spectacular view of sea ice was captured during an Operation IceBridge flight in 2014; the mission surveyed ice at both poles again in 2015, this time simultaneously.
This map shows sea ice extent around Antarctica on September 22, 2013, when ice covered more of the Southern Ocean than at any other time in the satellite record.
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.
On February 24, 2008—late summer in the Southern Hemisphere—the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of lingering sea ice in the Southern Ocean.
One of NASA’s workhorse planes, the DC-8, is being used this month to provide critical insight on the health of the ice sheets and shelves at the southern tip of the world.