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Changing Antarctica Viewed By NASA Satellite
Los Angeles - Apr 21, 2002 NASA instruments flying on the Terra satellite have observed the calving of an iceberg and the breakup of an ice shelf in Antarctica, roughly 2,100 kilometers (1,300 miles) from one another. Last month, a large crack developed in the Thwaites Tongue, a large sheet of glacial ice that extends from the West Antarctica mainland into the southern Amundsen Sea. A piece broke away, or calved, forming an iceberg designated B- 22 by the National Ice Center. In February, a section of the Larsen B ice shelf, located on the familiar finger-like Antarctic Peninsula, collapsed and broke away from the peninsula. The progression of both breakups were initially observed by NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. Images of the subsequent calving and ice shelf breakup were captured by NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer. The B-22 iceberg measures approximately 82 kilometers (about 32 miles) long by 62 kilometers (about 24 miles) wide. Comparison of the images shows the iceberg, located below and to the left of center, has drifted away from the ice shelf. The breakup of ice near the shelf edge, in the area surrounding B-22, is also visible in the later image. These natural-color images were acquired on March 10 and 24, 2002, respectively. Antarctic researchers have reported an increase in the frequency of iceberg calving in recent years. It has not yet been established if this is a result of regional climate variation or the global warming trend. The two views of the ice shelf breakup, acquired on March 7, 2002, provide helpful chemical and topographical perspectives. In the left-hand image, near-infrared, red and blue data from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer's nadir (vertical-viewing) camera causes water ice within the ice shelf to appear vibrant blue. Water has an intrinsic blue color due to the selective absorption of longer wavelengths such as red and infrared, and the translucent properties of ice within the collapsing shelf enables this absorption to be observed. Data from three different cameras on the instrument and one color channel were combined to create the multi-angle composite on the right. Because vertical protrusions or depressions within textured surfaces appear brighter on their illuminated faces, the orange color in the multi-angle composite suggests a rough ice surface. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Ice Shelf Images B-22 Iceberg Images The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Dirt, rocks and all the stuff we stand on firmly
Magnetic Reconnection Region Larger Than 2.5 Million Km Found In The Solar Wind
Paris (ESA) Jan 12, 2006Using the ESA Cluster spacecraft and the NASA Wind and ACE satellites, a team of American and European scientists have discovered the largest jets of particles created between the Earth and the Sun by magnetic reconnection. This result makes the cover of this week's issue of Nature. |
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