LiveScience Image Gallery

Ice of the Antarctic

Image Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

The Beauty of the Antarctic

Shown above is an iceberg in Gerlache Strait. Photographer: Rear Admiral Harley D. Nygren, NOAA Corps (ret.). Click to enlarge.
Image Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

Huge Block of Ice

Pictured above is an iceberg off the Antarctic Peninsula. The size of the iceberg appears to be similar to that of a cruise ship. Photographer: Commander Richard Behn, NOAA Corps. Click to enlarge.
Image Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

Mysterious and Captivating

An iceberg sits in the middle of the cool Arctic waters. Photographer: Michael Van Woert, NOAA NESDIS, ORA. Click to enlarge.
Image Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

On the Move

The image shows an Iceberg drifting slowly across the waters. Photographer: Michael Van Woert, NOAA NESDIS, ORA. Click to enlarge.
Image Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

Massive Chunk

Above is a photograph of a large tabular iceberg off the Antarctic Peninsula. Photographer: Commander Richard Behn, NOAA Corps. Click to enlarge.
Image Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

Stranded

Icebergs grounded on Pennel Bank. Photographer: Michael Van Woert, NOAA NESDIS, ORA. Click to enlarge.
Image Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

Closing In

Close-up of Icebergs grounded on Pennel Bank. Photographer: Michael Van Woert, NOAA NESDIS, ORA. Click to enlarge.
Image Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

Follow the Leader

Note the arches in the icebergs off the Antarctic Peninsula. The icebergs are slowly moving along the waters. Photographer: Commander Richard Behn, NOAA Corps. Click to enlarge.
Image Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

Views From Above

Flying over large tabular icebergs on the way to McMurdo Sound. Photographer: Mr. Ardo X. Meyer, NOAA (ret.). Click to enlarge.
Image Courtesy of Landsat 7 project

Formation of an Iceberg

Icebergs form when they are broken off from a glacier or an ice shelf. Here is an example of an iceberg breaking from a glacier. More than a decade ago a large iceberg (over a thousand square miles in area, and a quarter of a mile thick) broke off an Antarctic glacier and drifted into the Southern Ocean. This true color Landsat 7 image shows relatively small icebergs "calving" off the edge of B10A. The new icebergs drifted into international shipping lanes, posing a threat. Click to enlarge.
Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/JPL, MISR Team

Point of Separation

In this picture, two large icebergs, designated B-15A and C-16, are captured in this Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) nadir camera view of the Ross Ice Shelf and Ross Sea in Antarctica. B-15A is the largest chunk left of a bigger iceberg, known as B-15 that broke off the Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000. That initial frozen hunk was about the size of Jamaica. At 71 miles (115 kilometers) long, B-15A is the largest free-floating object in the world. The image was acquired on December 10, 2000, prior to when B-15A broke off from the Ross Ice Shelf. Click to enlarge.
Image Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

The World‘s Most Famous Ice Shelf

The next pictures focus on the famous Ross Ice Shelf. Note the size of the ice shelf compared to the people in the photo. The picture shows the Ross Ice Shelf, the largest in the world, at the Bay of Whales - the point where Amundsen staged his successful assault on the South Pole. 78 30 S Latitude 164 20W Longitude. Photographer: Michael Van Woert, NOAA NESDIS, ORA. Click to enlarge.
Image Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

On the Edge

This stunning view shows the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf as seen by the NATHANIEL B. PALMER. Click to enlarge.
Image Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

Tip of the Iceberg

This perspective view shows the seaward edge of the floating Ross Ice Shelf. Photographer: Michael Van Woert, NOAA NESDIS, ORA. Click to enlarge.
Image Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

Simply Beautiful!

A southern view of the Ross Ice Shelf at the Bay of Whales. This is the southern-most navigable point on the planet and the point where Amundsen started his successful trek to the South Pole. 78 30 S Latitude 164 20W Longitude. Photographer: Michael Van Woert, NOAA NESDIS, ORA. Click to enlarge.
Image Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

Smooth Sailing

A ship sails pass the Ross Ice Shelf. Research Vessel Ice Breaker (RVIB) NATHANIEL B. PALMER in the background. Photographer: Michael Van Woert, NOAA NESDIS, ORA. Click to enlarge.