The European Space Agency has released the first high-resolution images from the Envisat polar-orbiting environmental monitoring satellite, showing the break up of the 3,250 km2 (2,000 mile2) Larsen B ice shelf in Antarctica and land and offshore areas of West Africa. The Antarctic has experienced exceptional atmospheric warming over the past decade, triggering the retreat and break-up of the ice shelves. The launch of Envisat on 1 March occurred just in time to capture the disintegration of the Larsen B. The 400km area was pictured by Envisat's synthetic aperture radar. The collapsed ice shelf has fractured into thousands of icebergs.
Source: Flight International