Satellite Images of Antarctic Ice Shelves from 1989

Antarctic ice shelves and glaciers are monitored through satellite imagery. The dataset includes AVHRR images from August 1989 to October 2001 and ongoing MODIS images from March 2000 onward, with new MODIS imagery added monthly. It was created by NASA to track ice streams and outlet glaciers susceptible to climatic warming and major calving events.

Use Cases

• Tracking ice shelf calving events using visible and thermal channel imagery.
• Monitoring long-term changes in major Antarctic ice streams and outlet glaciers over a 30+ year period.
• Analyzing seasonal and interannual variability in ice shelf extent using monthly updated MODIS data.
• Studying the response of specific ice shelves to climatic warming through multi-sensor time-series analysis.

Strengths

• Provides a long-term record spanning over 30 years, from August 1989 to the present.
• Includes data from multiple satellite sensors (AVHRR and MODIS) for cross-validation and continuity.
• Features regular monthly updates from MODIS Level 1B Calibrated Radiances for ongoing monitoring.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on license information, with one specifying 'other-license-specified' and another listing 'None'.
• Image availability has gaps between sensor transitions (AVHRR ended 2001, MODIS began 2000).

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Satellite imagery processed from AVHRR (NOAA satellites) and MODIS (Terra and Aqua satellites) sensors.

Time Range

August 1989 to present

Freshness

2026-03-13 01:30:20.874357

Geography

Antarctic coast, focusing on major ice streams, outlet glaciers, and ice shelves.