November 21, 2014 - Iceberg from Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica

Iceberg from Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica

As warmer weather comes to Antarctica, sea ice around Iceberg B-31 has begun to melt, clearing a path for resumption of slow drifting away from the Pine Island Glacier.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image on November 12, 2014. The iceberg appears as a roughly rectangular piece of bright white ice located just southwest of center of the image. Dark ocean water is visible on three sides. The ice covering the ocean next to the fourth side appears bluish-gray, a sign of thin or moister (melting) ice.

According to the U.S. National Ice Center, on November 14 iceberg B-31 was located at 72°43’ South and 110°05’ West. That is approximately 241 miles from the calving front at Pine Island Glacer, or 11 miles from Iceberg's B-31's location on October 31, near the date of the last image of B-31 used as a MODIS Image of the Day. To see that image, go to the November 11, 2014 Image of the Day, or here: http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2014-11-11

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 11/12/2014
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC