Wilkins Ice Shelf from January 2008 - April 2009

Animation of Envisat ASAR images over the Wilkins Ice Shelf from January 2008 - April 2009.

The animation includes the three successive break-up events in 2008: February, May, and July as well as the latest break-up event in April 2009 that triggered the recent iceberg calving from the northern front of the Wilkins Ice Shelf. This event follows the collapse of the ice bridge that had previously linked the Antarctic mainland to Charcot Island. The ice bridge, which effectively formed a barrier pinning back the northern ice front of the central Wilkins Ice Shelf, collapsed on 5 April removing about 330 sq km of ice. As a consequence of the collapse, the rifts, which had already featured along the northern ice front, widened and new cracks formed as the ice adjusted in the days that followed.