Images
January 19, 2011 - George V and Adelie Coasts, Antarctica
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Appearing much like a stark study in black and white, the deep, dark waters of the Southern Ocean form a sharp contrast to the brilliant white of the ice covering the George V and Adelie Coasts, Antarctica. The Moderate Resolution Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Aqua satellite captured this true-color image as it passed over the region on January 15, 2011.
The George V and Adelie Coasts are part of East Antarctica, an area that is almost entirely covered with ice year-round and is famous as a home for seabirds, penguins and seals, especially the Emperor Penguin, which breeds here in the winter.
The Adelie Coast lies to the left in this image. This ice-covered land is claimed by France, which maintains a research base, Dumont d’Urville Station, on a coastal island, as well as a small station, Charcot Station , on inland ice. Neither station is easily visible in this image.
The George V Coast, claimed by Australia, is famous for the Mertz Glacier, which can be seen at the center of the image as a smooth blue-white area to the left of a multi-fingered land mass. Just one year ago this glacier sported a long tongue which projected out into the waters of the Southern Ocean. In February of 2010, a massive iceberg named B-09B, comparable in size to the state of Rhode Island, collided with the glacier tongue and broke it off of the glacier. This glacial tongue formed a new iceberg which was nearly as large as B-09B. In this image, only a single large iceberg remains at the site of that collision.
In the ocean, bright white formations indicate icebergs which float offshore of both coasts. Delicate swirls of bluish-white further out to sea indicate thinner sea-ice, much of which will melt as the Antarctic summer progresses.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 1/15/2011
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Appearing much like a stark study in black and white, the deep, dark waters of the Southern Ocean form a sharp contrast to the brilliant white of the ice covering the George V and Adelie Coasts, Antarctica. The Moderate Resolution Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Aqua satellite captured this true-color image as it passed over the region on January 15, 2011.
The George V and Adelie Coasts are part of East Antarctica, an area that is almost entirely covered with ice year-round and is famous as a home for seabirds, penguins and seals, especially the Emperor Penguin, which breeds here in the winter.
The Adelie Coast lies to the left in this image. This ice-covered land is claimed by France, which maintains a research base, Dumont d’Urville Station, on a coastal island, as well as a small station, Charcot Station , on inland ice. Neither station is easily visible in this image.
The George V Coast, claimed by Australia, is famous for the Mertz Glacier, which can be seen at the center of the image as a smooth blue-white area to the left of a multi-fingered land mass. Just one year ago this glacier sported a long tongue which projected out into the waters of the Southern Ocean. In February of 2010, a massive iceberg named B-09B, comparable in size to the state of Rhode Island, collided with the glacier tongue and broke it off of the glacier. This glacial tongue formed a new iceberg which was nearly as large as B-09B. In this image, only a single large iceberg remains at the site of that collision.
In the ocean, bright white formations indicate icebergs which float offshore of both coasts. Delicate swirls of bluish-white further out to sea indicate thinner sea-ice, much of which will melt as the Antarctic summer progresses.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 1/15/2011
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
