Images
June 9, 2019 - Geographical Society Island, Eastern Greenland
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Encouraged by a warm spring, ice breakup was well underway in northeast Greenland by early June 2019.
On June 5, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color centered on Geographical Society Island, located off of Foster Bay. To the south, large Traills Island can be seen at the lower edge of the image. Across the Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord, which is located north of Geographical Society Island, several additional islands can be seen. On the northwestern island a former weather and trappers’ station still exists, serving only as a temporary base camp these days. Called Myggbutka, a website offering the use of the small station illustrates the remote wildness of this location, stating “due to possible damage by polar bears the present condition of the station is unknown”. The area around the two northernmost islands has been recognized by Birdlife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) due to the critical importance of the area as a breeding area for wading birds, ducks, and the Long-tailed Jaeger. This entire area sits in the southeastern corner of Greenland’s largest—and only—park, the Northeast Greenland National Park.
The average temperature for May in Myggbutka was 1°C (33.8°F). The long-term average temperature in May has been 0°C (32°F). An increase in 1°C (1. 8°F) brings the temperature above freezing—a strong push for ice melt.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 6/5/2019
Resolutions:
1km (94 KB), 500m (277.5 KB), 250m (605.7 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Encouraged by a warm spring, ice breakup was well underway in northeast Greenland by early June 2019.
On June 5, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color centered on Geographical Society Island, located off of Foster Bay. To the south, large Traills Island can be seen at the lower edge of the image. Across the Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord, which is located north of Geographical Society Island, several additional islands can be seen. On the northwestern island a former weather and trappers’ station still exists, serving only as a temporary base camp these days. Called Myggbutka, a website offering the use of the small station illustrates the remote wildness of this location, stating “due to possible damage by polar bears the present condition of the station is unknown”. The area around the two northernmost islands has been recognized by Birdlife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) due to the critical importance of the area as a breeding area for wading birds, ducks, and the Long-tailed Jaeger. This entire area sits in the southeastern corner of Greenland’s largest—and only—park, the Northeast Greenland National Park.
The average temperature for May in Myggbutka was 1°C (33.8°F). The long-term average temperature in May has been 0°C (32°F). An increase in 1°C (1. 8°F) brings the temperature above freezing—a strong push for ice melt.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 6/5/2019
Resolutions:
1km (94 KB), 500m (277.5 KB), 250m (605.7 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
