ASAR assists Antarctic rescue - close-up

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