Images
January 26, 2010 - Rapid Sea Ice Breakup along the Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf
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Within a 24-hour space, an area of sea ice larger than the state of Rhode Island broke away from the Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf and shattered into many smaller pieces. The MODIS on NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellites captured this event. On the afternoon of January 12, 2009, the ice shelf is clearly in one piece. By the morning of January 13, it was already breaking up. Today's image of the day shows the ice on the morning of January 14, 2009. The MODIS on the Terra satellite captured this image.
The long, narrow tongue of ice in the image is partially a bridge of sea ice that links the A-23A iceberg to the Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf in West Antarctica. The iceberg is at the top of the tongue of the ice. It's hard to distinguish it from the ice bridge. This Earth Observatory image is labeled. The ice bridge is fast ice, or sea ice that does not move because it is anchored to the shore. Compared to an ice shelf, the sea ice is a thin shell of ice over the ocean. The difference in thickness is more easily visible in the high resolution image.
This particular ice bridge breaks up and reforms regularly. Even though the images show a routine event, they provide a spectacular view of the sometimes dramatic arrival of summer in the Polar South.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 01/14/2010
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Within a 24-hour space, an area of sea ice larger than the state of Rhode Island broke away from the Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf and shattered into many smaller pieces. The MODIS on NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellites captured this event. On the afternoon of January 12, 2009, the ice shelf is clearly in one piece. By the morning of January 13, it was already breaking up. Today's image of the day shows the ice on the morning of January 14, 2009. The MODIS on the Terra satellite captured this image.
The long, narrow tongue of ice in the image is partially a bridge of sea ice that links the A-23A iceberg to the Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf in West Antarctica. The iceberg is at the top of the tongue of the ice. It's hard to distinguish it from the ice bridge. This Earth Observatory image is labeled. The ice bridge is fast ice, or sea ice that does not move because it is anchored to the shore. Compared to an ice shelf, the sea ice is a thin shell of ice over the ocean. The difference in thickness is more easily visible in the high resolution image.
This particular ice bridge breaks up and reforms regularly. Even though the images show a routine event, they provide a spectacular view of the sometimes dramatic arrival of summer in the Polar South.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 01/14/2010
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
