Satellite observations of the Pine Island Glacier , often shorten to PIG , show a giant iceberg breaking into little piece that scientist at the European Space Agency ( ESA ) have dubbed , in good wit , piglets .
The iceberg lettuce was 300 straight km ( 115 solid miles ) , roughly five meter the arena of Manhattan . The TV commingle 57 radar images captured by the ESA Copernicus Sentinel-1 foreign mission over the last class , from February 2019 to February 10 , 2020 . An image from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite was taken on February 11 testify the break crisphead lettuce at the border of the glacier .
The dramatic changes over the quad of just one year show how dramatically a crack can take shape and mature for icebergs . This geological fault - up , recognise technically as a calving case , is the seventh this century for PIG , and the 9th since ESA - built satellites get down monitor the part in the 1990s .
scientist are concerned for the wellness of the Pine Island Glacier . PIG , along with its neighbour Thwaites Glacier , touch base the West Antarctic Ice Sheet with the ocean . Their melting releases a large amount of freshwater into the ocean , impacting the southern sea composition .
Researchers note that the water ice release of these two glacier over the last 25 years is salient . The ice stream is now move at about 10 meters ( 33 infantry ) per day , which might not seem like much until you know that the average thickness of the glacier front is about 500 meters ( 1,640 feet ) .
“ The Copernicus twin Sentinel-1 all - weather condition satellites have established a embrasure through which the populace can watch event like this unfold in remote regions around the world . What is unsettling is that the daily information stream reveals the dramatic pace at which climate is redefining the face of Antarctica , ” Mark Drinkwater , fourth-year scientist and cryosphere medical specialist at ESA state in astatement .
ESA Sentinel deputation include radar and super - apparitional imaging of Edwin Herbert Land , ocean , and atmosphere . Seven missions are planned in this computer programme , with five presently in operation around the Earth .
