Massive Larsen C iceberg on the move
The giant chunk of the Larsen C ice shelf is beginning to break up and drift out to sea.
The massive Larsen C iceberg shown in an infrared image taken by Landsat 8.
NASA Goddard / UMBC JCET, Christopher A. Shuman
As Antarctica remains shrouded in darkness during the Southern Hemisphere winter, the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) on Landsat 8 captured a new snap of the 5800-square-kilometre iceberg that split off from the Antarctic Peninsula’s Larsen C ice shelf on July 10-12.
The satellite imagery is a composite of images taken by Landsat 8 as it passed on July 14 and July 21 and shows that the main berg, A-68, has already lost several smaller pieces. The A-68 iceberg is being carried by currents northward out of its embayment on the Larsen C ice shelf. The latest imagery also details a group of three small, not yet released icebergs at the north end of the embayment.
Curated content from the editorial staff at Cosmos Magazine.
