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The first checkup of the Earth



ASAR Image Antarctic Peninsula


ASAR is an excellent instrument for observing the extent and dynamics of ice shelves, which are important indicators of climate change in polar regions. Along the Antarctic Peninsula the ice shelves can reach 300 m thickness. They are nourished by glaciers streaming down from the central ice sheet plateau, which extends as a narrow spine along the central part of the Peninsula.



Ice shelf animation

Time series climate data from the Peninsula document an average temperature rise of 2.5 degrees Celsius over the last 50 years. And as can be seen in this animation which incorporates data from the last decade by combining ERS SAR data with the first Envisat data, this warming seems to have changed the very face of the Peninsula's east coast once completely ice-shelf bound. This animation was prepared by Prof. Helmuth Rott and his colleages from the University of Innsbruck.

Click here to see the animation.

Larsen Ice Shelf

During the last 20 years, the duration and extent of surface melt has increased significantly on the ice shelves of the western and north-eastern sections of the Peninsula. This has led to the formation of melt water ponds, weakening the structure of the ice fabric and producing crevasses and rifts.
 


Antarctica in January 1999
(image from ERS)


Antarctica in January 1995
(image from ERS)



The ASAR image covers the Antarctic Peninsula, which extends for 1000 km in the south-north direction and is situated between the Bellingshausen Sea on the west and the Weddell Sea on the east. This is a region that has experienced exceptional atmospheric warming since the 1950s and is therefore of key interest for global change research. Over the last 50 years an average temperature increase of 2.5°C has been observed at the climate stations on the Peninsula. This has triggered the retreat and break-up of several ice shelves, culminating in the collapse of the two northern parts of the Larsen Ice Shelf in January 1995 (Larsen A) and in March 2002 (Larsen B). The launch of Envisat on 1 March 2002 occurred just in time to capture the dramatic break-up of Larsen B.
 
 

First Image
first image
Envisat Team

 

 

 
       
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28-03-2002