Earth  ID: 11414

An Iceberg Is Born

Story by Holli Riebeek Released on December 19, 2013
Download Options
A large crack in an Antarctic glacier heralds the birth of an iceberg the size of Singapore.
Over the course of two years, NASA satellites and airborne instruments tracked the birth of a new iceberg from Pine Island Glacier, the longest and fastest-moving glacier in West Antarctica. Scientists first discovered a large crack while flying over the glacier in October 2011. By July 2013, satellite images indicated that the crack had cut completely across the ice shelf to the southwestern edge, forming a chunk of ice about 21 miles wide and 12 miles long. New images now show that the iceberg, named B-31, is slowly moving away from the coast. Watch the video to see the iceberg separate from Pine Island Glacier.
Download Options
This time-lapse video was assembled from images captured by NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites between Nov. 4 and Nov. 20, 2013.
Download Options
The Landsat 7 satellite acquired this image of the crack on Oct. 26, 2012.
Download Options
The Landsat 8 satellite acquired this image on Oct. 28, 2013, days before the iceberg separated from the glacier.
Download Options
By Nov. 13, 2013, when Landsat 8 acquired this image, the iceberg had started to drift away from the coast.
Download Options
The location of Pine Island Glacier is shown on this map of Antarctica.

For More Information

NASA Earth Observatory

Story Credits

Video Editor:
Holli Riebeek (Sigma Space Corporation)

Lead Writer:
Holli Riebeek (Sigma Space Corporation)

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Earth Observatory
Aqua and Terra images courtesy of NASA/GSFC/MODIS Rapid Response Team/Jeff Schmaltz
Landsat images courtesy of NASA/GSFC/Matt Radcliff and NASA Earth Observatory/Robert Simmon and Jesse Allen
Antarctica map courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory/Robert Simmon

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11414

Keywords:
SVS >> App
NASA Science >> Earth