MODIS true color image (bands 1, 4, 3) of Antarctica, 9 November 2004.
The C-19 icebergs off Adelie Coast, Antarctica, are shown in this true-color Terra MODIS image from November 9, 2004. These icebergs broke off the Ross Ice Shelf in May 2002. At the time, C-19 was about 20 miles wide and 124 miles long, one of the largest icebergs ever recorded. C-19 is unusual in that it is the second large iceberg to calve off the Ross Ice Shelf in 26 months. The first, the B-15 iceberg, broke off in 2000. The two icebergs trapped sea ice in the shipping lanes used to transport supplies to the research station on Ross Island until C19 swung out to sea in 2002.
MODIS true color image (bands 1, 4, 3) of Antarctica, 9 November 2004.
The C-19 and B-15 icebergs stick out into the Ross Sea, trapping sea ice between them in this true-color Aqua MODIS image from November 9, 2004. To the bottom right, the Ross Ice shelf is a smooth white expanse; this is the iceshelf that calved both of these massive icebergs. The pieces of the B-15 iceberg point to the northwest from the iceshelf, while the C-19 iceberg points east from Victoria Land. Summer temperatures mean sea ice is absent from the rest of the water, though low clouds cast an opaque veil across the black water.
Text and images courtesy of NASA's MODIS Land Rapid Response Team.