March 22, 2014 - Iceberg from Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica

Iceberg from Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica

On March 14, 2014, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured a true-color image of Iceberg B31 as it continued its northwestwardly journey away from the place of its birth – the Pine Island Glacier.

The roughly square-shaped iceberg has retained its size through the relatively warm days of the Antarctic summer, but it has not retained its position. On March 21, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center estimated B31’s size as about 21 mi x 12.6 mi (34 km x 20 km) – still roughly the size of Singapore. On that same date, the location was estimated at 72°42’ S and 107°22’ W, which is about 103 miles from its location on February 7 (74°07’S and 105°44’W ). This latest location brings the large iceberg out of Pine Island Bay and into the Amundsen Sea.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 3/14/2014
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,5
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC