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| | | | | | | Envisat's night eye supports icebound ship rescue in Antarctica
2 August 2002
| Icebreaker Almirante Irízar moving northwards northwards with German vessel Magdalena Oldendorff close behind (28 July). Worsening conditions forced the rescue attempt to be called off. Having left the Magdalena Oldendorff in a safe location in the Bay of Muskegbuta the icebreaker is trying to break through the Antarctic ice-belt headed for Buenos Aires. Envisat ASAR data has been supplied to the icebreaker to assist in plotting the safest course though weaker points in the ice.
Credits: Argentine Navy | |  |  | |
| | | | | This image was acquired by Envisat’s Advanced Aperture Radar (ASAR) on 31 July 2002, in support of rescue efforts in Antarctica. The ASAR wide swath image shows a 400 km stretch of the Antarctic Coast in Queen Maud Land. At this time of year, a belt of sea ice up to 1100 km wide surrounds the Antarctic Continent and its ice shelves and gives the sea in this image a textured grey appearance.
At the time of this acquisition, the supply ship Magdalena Oldendorff was sheltering in a bay known as Muskegbukta on the Eastern side of the Jutulstraumen Ice Tongue. Her location is visible on the very edge of this scene (marked in blue). The icebreaker Almirante Irizar’s course through the ice-infested waters is shown as a series of GPS location measurements, one of which was made within minutes of the acquisition (shown in yellow). She will continue to skirt the ice shelf until reaching safer waters in the vicinity of the Astrid Rise (longitude 12E, off the image) in order to make her return to Buenos Aires.
The Mühlig-Hofmann Mountains are visible in the bottom left corner. Glaciers flowing from the mountains feed the Fimbul Ice Shelf, visible as a bright white swath bordering the South Atlantic Ocean.
Technical Information:
Instrument: Advanced Syntetic Aperture Radar(ASAR)
Mode: Wide Swath
Date of Acquisition: 31 July 2002
Orbit number:2177
Orbit direction: Ascending
Polarisation: H-H
Resolution: 150 metres
Credits: ESA 2002 | | | | |
| | | | | Close-up of Envisat ASAR image acquired on 31 July 2002, in support of a rescue mission in Antarctica.
The area of the Jutulstraumen Ice Tongue is shown in this close-up image (100 km wide) focusing on the positions of the ships at the time of acquisition. The Magdalena Oldendorff is at anchor in a bay called Muskegbukta, and the icebreaker Almirante Irizar is making her way back to Argentina.
In this ASAR image, thick sea ice appears with a textured grey signature in contrast to the bright ice shelf. It is evident that the two regions are separated by a narrow belt of clearer water, which is facilitating the icebreaker’s eastward passage. The whole area is littered with hazardous icebergs, visible as bright specks against the darker background.
Technical Information:
Instrument: Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR)
Mode: Wide Swath
Acquisition date: 31 July 2002
Orbit number: 2177
Orbit direction: Ascending
Polarisation: H-H
Resolution: 150 metres
Credits: ESA 2002 | | | | |
| | | | | The ice-bound German-owned Magdalena Oldendorff is seen from a South African Air Force Oryx helicopter Thursday June 27, 2002 near the Novolazarevskaya station in the northeast Antarctica. Scientists and crew members were rescued off the vessel by the SA Agulhas which arrived back in Cape Town Wednesday July 10, 2002.
Credits: AP Photo-Edwuan Teich | | | | |
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| | Related articles Why is ASAR useful for assisting polar operations?ESA keeps vigil on the Antarctic ice packEnvisat's MERIS captures image of Hurricane ElidaWhat puts the “Advanced” in Envisat’s Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar?The first Envisat check-up on the EarthRelated links Envisat ResultsEarth Observation ProgrammeFederal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany
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