Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Glaciers
One of the most studied ice shelves in Antarctica has recently seen big changes. While the calving process is a normal part of an ice shelf’s lifecycle, recent rifting and iceberg calving may mean that the Brunt Ice Shelf is in a period of instability. It could also be an indicator of the future of other ice shelves in this region.
Landsat satellites have watched the ice shelf for nearly five decades. In 1971, a calving event reduced its extent. This occurred just before the first Landsat launched in 1972, so the earliest Landsat observations of Brunt came during the Antarctic summer of 1972–1973.
And now, Landsat 9 has joined Landsat 8 in observing the changing rifts on the ice shelf.
Location
Jan. 27, 1973, Landsat 1 (path/row 195/114) — Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Jan. 30, 1986, Landsat 5 (path/row 183/114) — Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Dec. 13, 2002, Landsat 7 (path/row 182/114) — Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Feb. 13, 2009, Landsat 7 (path/row 184/114) — Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Dec. 1, 2013, Landsat 8 (path/row 184/114) — Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Dec. 25, 2021, Landsat 8 (path/row 182/114) — Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Feb. 8, 2022, Landsat 9 (path/row 185/114) — Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica Additional Imagery & Stories
A-74
It soon became too dark to see A-74, which covered 1,270 km2, as the Antarctic winter set in. But Landsat 8 continued imaging with its Thermal Infrare...
Chasm 1
A feature known as Chasm 1 is prominent in the Landsat imagery. This crack reactivated in December 2012 after no movement for 35 years. The Landsat im...
Halley Station
The British Antarctic Survey has studied Brunt Ice Shelf in person since 1955. Scientists at their Halley Research Station study Earth, atmospheric, a...
Halloween Crack
Another rift appeared on the Brunt Ice Shelf in October 2016 and quickly extended eastward. Dubbed Halloween Crack, it’s located about 12 km north of ...
Ice Rumples
Major rifts have formed near a distinctive feature called the McDonald Ice Rumples. The feature, rising about 10 m above the surrounding ice shelf, ma...
North Rift
While a large iceberg was threatening to form from the Halloween Crack or Chasm 1, a new rift suddenly appeared in satellite images in September 2019 ...
North Rift 2
The rift continued to push northeast at up to 1 km per day as it cut through the 150-m thick ice shelf. GPS equipment detected a break on February 26,...
References
British Antarctic Survey, 2021, Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica Calves: British Antarctic Survey web page, accessed January 7, 2022, at https://www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/brunt-ice-shelf-in-antarctica-calves/.
British Antarctic Survey, [n.d.], Brunt Ice Shelf Movement: British Antarctic Survey web page, accessed January 7, 2022, at https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/brunt-ice-shelf-movement/.
Cheng, Y., Xia, M., Qiao, G., Lv, D., Li, Y., and Hai, G., 2021, Imminent calving accelerated by increased instability of the Brunt Ice Shelf, in response to climate warming: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 572, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2021.117132.
De Rydt, J., Gudmundsson, G.H., Nagler, T., Wuite, J., and King, E.C., 2018, Recent rift formation and impact on the structural integrity of the Brunt Ice Shelf, East Antarctica: The Cryosphere, v. 12, no. 2, p. 505–520, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-505-2018.
De Rydt, J., Gudmundsson, G.H., Nagler, T., and Wuite, J., 2019, Calving cycle of the Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica, driven by changes in ice shelf geometry: The Cryopshere, v. 13, p. 2771–2787, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2771-2019.
European Space Agency, 2021, A-74 iceberg near collision with Brunt Ice Shelf: ESA, accessed January 7, 2022, at https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2021/08/A-74_iceberg_near_collision_with_Brunt_Ice_Shelf.
Gudmundsson, G.H., De Rydt, J., and Nagler, T., 2017, Five decades of strong temporal variability in the flow of Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica: Journal of Glaciology, v. 63, no. 237, p. 164–175, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.132.
Hansen, K., 2019, Countdown to Calving at Brunt Ice Shelf: NASA Earth Observatory, accessed January 7, 2022, at https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/144563/countdown-to-calving-at-brunt-ice-shelf.
Hansen, K., 2021, Brunt Breaking Up with Antarctica this Year? NASA Earth Observatory, accessed January 7, 2022, at https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147799/brunt-breaking-up-with-antarctica-this-year.
Hansen, K., 2021, Breakup at Brunt: NASA Earth Observatory, accessed January 7, 2022, at https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/148009/breakup-at-brunt.
Hodgson, D.A., Jordan, T.A., De Rydt, J., Fretwell, P.T., Seddon, S.A., Becker, D., Hogan, K.A., Smith, A.M., and Vaughan, D.G., 2019, Past and future dynamics of the Brunt Ice Shelf from seabed bathymetry and ice shelf geometry: The Cryophere, v. 13, p. 545–556, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-545-2019.
Matsuoka, K., Hindmarsh, R.C.A., Moholdt, G., Bentley, M.J., Pritchard, H.D., Brown, J., Conway, H., Drews, R., Durand, G., Goldberg, D., Hattermann, T., Kingslake, J., Lenaerts, J.T.M., Martín, C., Mulvaney, R., Nicholls, K.W., Pattyn, F., Ross, N., Scambos, T., and Whitehouse, P.L., 2015, Antarctic ice rises and rumples—Their properties and significance for ice-sheet dynamics and evolution: Earth-Science Reviews, v. 150, p. 724–745, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2015.09.004.
Metcalfe, T., 2017, Antarctic Science Lab On the Move to Escape Breaking Ice: Live Science, accessed January 7, 2022, at https://www.livescience.com/57440-antarctica-research-lab-relocated.html.