Petermann’s 76-Sq-Km Ice Island Survives Joe Island Collision, Drifting Into Nares Strait
Updated
Updated · Science@NASA · Sep 1
Petermann’s 76-Sq-Km Ice Island Survives Joe Island Collision, Drifting Into Nares Strait
3 articles · Updated · Science@NASA · Sep 1
Summary
Landsat images from Aug. 23-24 showed the Petermann ice island striking Joe Island at the mouth of Petermann Fjord and emerging without further fragmentation.
The tabular berg, estimated at less than 150 meters thick, had drifted about 3 kilometers per day after calving on Aug. 4 and has now pivoted southwest into Nares Strait.
Scientists had expected Joe Island to trigger breakup—the 2010 Petermann ice island split there in two—but said they were impressed this thinner, more fragile berg stayed intact.
At just over 76 square kilometers, the iceberg was the largest Arctic glacier calving since 2020 and Petermann’s biggest since 2012, though two remaining rifts could later spawn 94- and 84-square-kilometer ice islands.
As it continues drifting, the ice island is still expected to fracture and may eventually ground off Coburg or Baffin islands, posing hazards to marine activity while adding freshwater to the ocean.