Click on picture
above to see
animation of the
breakup of the Larsen B Ice Shelf (491 KB) |
Retreat of the northern Larsen Ice Shelf
Overview: 1986 - 2002
[ Click
here to visit web site where the animation on the left is
located, along with other detailed research... ] |
Click on picture
above to see
web site with
analysis of the breakup of the Larsen B Ice Shelf
|
UK scientists say the Larsen B shelf on the eastern side of
the Antarctic Peninsula has fragmented into small icebergs.
Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (Bas) predicted
in 1998 that several ice shelves around the peninsula were
doomed because of rising temperatures in the region - but
the speed with which the Larsen B has gone has shocked them.
"We knew what was left would collapse eventually, but
the speed of it is staggering," said Dr David Vaughan,
a glaciologist at the Bas in Cambridge. "[It is hard]
to believe that 500 billion tonnes of ice sheet has disintegrated
in less than a month." |
Click on picture
above to see
animation of the
breakup of the Larsen B Ice Shelf (314 KB)
This is a true color animation
of the events of January, February, and March 2002 as
recorded by NASA's MODIS satellite sensor. (MODIS stands
for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer, a sensor
flying on NASA's Terra satellite.) The images show the
Larsen B ice shelf and parts of the Antarctic Peninsula
(on left). The first scene from 31 January 2002 shows
the shelf in late austral summer with dark bluish melt
ponds dotting its surface. In the next two scenes minor
retreat takes place, amounting to about 800 km2, during
which time several of the melt ponds well away from the
ice front drain through new cracks within the shelf. The
main collapse is seen in the last two scenes, on 5 March
and 7 March, with thousands of sliver icebergs and a large
area of very finely divided 'bergy bits' where the shelf
formerly lay. Brownish streaks within the floating chunks
mark areas where rocks and morainal debris are exposed
from the former underside and interior of the shelf. The
last phases of the retreat totalled ~2600 km2.Resolution
of the original images is 500 m.
|
This animation was recorded by NASA's MODIS satellite sensor.
It shows the Larsen B ice shelf and parts of the Antarctic
Peninsula.
The first scene from January 31, 2002 shows the shelf in late
austral summer with dark bluish melt ponds dotting its surface.
In the next two scenes minor retreat takes place during which
time several of the melt ponds well away from the ice front
drain through new cracks within the shelf. The main collapse
happened between March 5 and 7.
[ For
more images, this animation, and detailed research on the
breakup of the Ice Shelf, click here... ] |
Click on picture
above to see
animation of the
breakup of the Larsen B Ice Shelf (525 KB)
|
© Institute for Meteorology and Geophysics,
University of Innsbruck
[ Click
here to see web site where this image is located...
]
|
Click on picture
above to see
BBC web site containing
above picture of breakup of the Larsen B Ice Shelf
|
Envisat
pictured the Larsen B ice shelf on 18 March, 2002, as its
fragments drifted out into the Weddell Sea. Combining the
data with those from Europe's ERS-1 and -2 satellites, scientists
have documented the 100 km retreat of the shelf over the past
decade. |
|
This
true-color image from Landsat 7, acquired on
February 21, 2000, shows pools of melt water on the surface
of the Larsen Ice Shelf, and drifting icebergs that have split
from the shelf. The upper image is an overview of the shelf’s
edge, while the lower image is displayed at full resolution
of 30 meters (98 feet) per pixel. The labeled pond in the
lower image measures roughly 1.6 by 1.6 km (1.0 x 1.0 miles). |
|
|
© Institute for
Meteorology and Geophysics, University of Innsbruck
[ Click
here for source of the image on the left... ]
[ Web
site with lots of images, details, animations, including the
image on the left... ] |
|
|
[
Click
here to visit web site where the image on the left is located,
along with other detailed research... ] |
