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Satellite observes rapid ice shelf disintegration in Antarctic
05 April 2012
As ESA's Envisat satellite marks ten years in orbit, it continues to observe the rapid retreat of one of Antarctica's ice shelves due to climate warming.
One of the satellite's first observations following its launch on 1 March 2002 was of break-up of a main section of the Larsen B ice shelf in Antarctica - when 3200 sq km of ice disintegrated within a few days due to mechanical instabilities of the ice masses triggered by climate warming.
Now, with ten years of observations using its Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR), Envisat has mapped an additional loss in Larsen B's area of 1790 sq km over the past decade.
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Source: ESA
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