The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures the icy panorama of Terra Nova Bay in East Antarctica.
Zoom in or click on on the circles to discover this picture at its full 10 m decision.
The bay is on the coast of Victoria Land on the Ross Sea – an extension of the Southern Ocean – and is delimited by the promontory of Cape Washington to the north and the Drygalski Ice Tongue to the south.
This picture from 14 February, which is late summer season within the southern hemisphere, reveals minimal seasonal sea-ice circumstances with giant areas of open water which seems black. White sea ice at various phases floats within the water: from skinny, newly-formed crusts to thicker floes. These numerous items of ice hint out the ocean currents beneath, leading to giant swirling shapes.
Bigger blocks of sea ice and icebergs could be seen within the decrease a part of the picture, on the seaward finish of Drygalski and beneath it. This lengthy, slender sheet of glacial ice stretches for 70 km into the ocean, as an extension of the land-based David Glacier.
North of Drygalski, we will see the white expanse of the Nansen Ice Sheet, fed by a number of outlet glaciers, together with the Larsen Glacier to the southwest, the Reeves Glacier to the west and the Priestley Glacier to the north. Circulate strains are seen on the floor indicating the route through which the ice is shifting in direction of the ocean.
On its east facet, the Nansen Ice Sheet encompasses the Northern Foothills, a line of coastal hills separated by the Browning Move from the Deep Freeze Vary to the north. Right here, on the southern headland alongside the bigger inlet, lies the seasonal Italian Zucchelli Station, which has been working within the space for the reason that mid-80s. Zooming in, the straight strains of one of many runways serving the station could be noticed a couple of kilometres south of the primary construction.
Different analysis stations are situated additional north on the identical inlet: the German Gondwana Station and the Jang Bogo Station of South Korea. Each stations sit subsequent to the mouth of Campbell Glacier, whose tongue extends southward into the bay. South of the Northern Foothills lies the small Inexpressible Island, which hosts the Chinese language Qinling Station on its southern edge.
Stretches of Inexpressible Island and of the coast of Victoria Land are unusually wealthy in wildlife and have been designated Essential Hen Areas by BirdLife Worldwide for colonies of Adelie penguins in addition to south polar skuas.
