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Antarctica’s Larsen B embayment has disintegrated

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February 4, 2022

Larsen B embayment; A large block of solid white matter stretches across the majority of the image. — January 16, 2022.

Larsen B embayment; Small fragments of white matter are pictured beside a larger block of solid white. — January 26, 2022. NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites acquired these natural-color images. Images via NASA.

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Larsen B embayment has broken up

NASA Earth Observatory released these satellite images of the Larsen B embayment in Antarctica on February 2, 2022. The Larsen Ice Shelf extends along the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It’s really a series of ice shelves that occupy (or occupied) distinct embayments (land areas forming bays) along the coast. Now a large expanse of sea ice has broken away. The first image above is from January 16, 2022. The second is from 10 days later, January 26. Antarctica is often cloudy, but scientists believe the break-up started around January 19.

Scientists are still investigating the reason for the breakup. But the early clearing of seasonal sea ice along the Antarctic Peninsula suggests that the ongoing summer in Antarctica has been warm and wet.

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