Spatio-temporal study of selected iceberg calving events in antarctica using landsat data

Calving is the breaking of large chunks of icebergs from glaciers or ice shelves. The alarming rate at which the process is taking place needs a special attention. In this study there were quite a few events that have already taken place and at the same time many that are yet to happen. This paper discusses 3 such calving events in Antarctica using Google Earth imageries and Landsat imageries. The first event is observed in the vicinity of Caird Coast in West Antarctica where a rift is growing wide and long within a very short span of time. Based on Google Earth imageries, the rift has grown from a 22 km stretch in 1984 to 55 km in 2017. The second event is reported in West Antarctica along the Luitpold Coast that shows a rift formed in the year 2013 and has since then showed a steady increase both in terms of length and width. The width has been increasing at the rate of half a km per year. Another rift runs somewhat parallel to the former rift and is around 8 km from away. The third event is reported close to Princess Astrid Coast in East Antarctica that took place in the year 2016 which was the result of an ongoing process that started in 2009. The calved portion covers an area of around 1 km². This study highlights the effective usage of Google Earth imageries and Landsat satellite imageries for monitoring iceberg calving events in Antarctica.