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April 30, 2020 - Iceberg A-68C
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Almost three years ago, the remarkably massive Iceberg A-68 broke free from Antarctica’s Larsen C Ice Shelf. With a surface area of about 5,800 square kilometers (2,239 square miles), the massive slab of ice was larger than the state of Delaware as well as one of the largest icebergs on record. When it calved, it reduced the total size of the Larsen C Ice Shelf by roughly twelve percent.
Once calved, ice bergs will eventually break apart as they drift towards warmer waters and are buffeted by winds and currents. Within two weeks, A-68 broke into two pieces that were large enough to be given names: A-68A and A-68B. Antarctic ice bergs are named, rather unromantically, from the Antarctic quadrant in which they were originally sighted, then a sequential number, then, if the iceberg breaks, a sequential letter. The quadrants are divided counter-clockwise, so that A = 0-90W (Bellingshausen/Weddell Sea) C = 180-90E (Western Ross Sea/Wilkes land) B = 90W-180 (Amundsen/Eastern Ross Sea) D = 90E-0 (Amery/Eastern Weddell Sea). The name tells us that iceberg A-68A was first seen in the Bellingshausen/Weddell Sea between 0-90°W; it was the 68th iceberg identified from that area; and it was the first (largest remaining) fragment when the berg split.
Although A-68A is a relatively thin iceberg, it had held together well, with no further fractures until late April, 2020. On April 24, the U.S. National Ice Center (USNIC) announced: “a new iceberg calved from parent iceberg A-68A, currently the world’s largest iceberg. The new iceberg A-68C is the second to calve from A-68 and measures 11 nautical miles on its longest axis and 7 nautical miles on its widest axis with an area of approximately 51 square nautical miles. A-68C is located at 60°25' South, 51°06' West at the edge of the Weddell Sea and South Atlantic Ocean in the vicinity of the South Orkney Islands on the Antarctic Peninsula. A-68C was first spotted by Jan Lieser of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and confirmed by USNIC Master Ice Analyst Christopher Readinger”.
On April 24, 2020 the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of newly-born Iceberg A68C. The smaller A68C appears well-separated from, but close to, the “mother” ‘berg, A-68A.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 4/24/2020
Resolutions:
1km (191.4 KB), 500m (578.8 KB), 250m (2.6 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Almost three years ago, the remarkably massive Iceberg A-68 broke free from Antarctica’s Larsen C Ice Shelf. With a surface area of about 5,800 square kilometers (2,239 square miles), the massive slab of ice was larger than the state of Delaware as well as one of the largest icebergs on record. When it calved, it reduced the total size of the Larsen C Ice Shelf by roughly twelve percent.
Once calved, ice bergs will eventually break apart as they drift towards warmer waters and are buffeted by winds and currents. Within two weeks, A-68 broke into two pieces that were large enough to be given names: A-68A and A-68B. Antarctic ice bergs are named, rather unromantically, from the Antarctic quadrant in which they were originally sighted, then a sequential number, then, if the iceberg breaks, a sequential letter. The quadrants are divided counter-clockwise, so that A = 0-90W (Bellingshausen/Weddell Sea) C = 180-90E (Western Ross Sea/Wilkes land) B = 90W-180 (Amundsen/Eastern Ross Sea) D = 90E-0 (Amery/Eastern Weddell Sea). The name tells us that iceberg A-68A was first seen in the Bellingshausen/Weddell Sea between 0-90°W; it was the 68th iceberg identified from that area; and it was the first (largest remaining) fragment when the berg split.
Although A-68A is a relatively thin iceberg, it had held together well, with no further fractures until late April, 2020. On April 24, the U.S. National Ice Center (USNIC) announced: “a new iceberg calved from parent iceberg A-68A, currently the world’s largest iceberg. The new iceberg A-68C is the second to calve from A-68 and measures 11 nautical miles on its longest axis and 7 nautical miles on its widest axis with an area of approximately 51 square nautical miles. A-68C is located at 60°25' South, 51°06' West at the edge of the Weddell Sea and South Atlantic Ocean in the vicinity of the South Orkney Islands on the Antarctic Peninsula. A-68C was first spotted by Jan Lieser of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and confirmed by USNIC Master Ice Analyst Christopher Readinger”.
On April 24, 2020 the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of newly-born Iceberg A68C. The smaller A68C appears well-separated from, but close to, the “mother” ‘berg, A-68A.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 4/24/2020
Resolutions:
1km (191.4 KB), 500m (578.8 KB), 250m (2.6 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
