Petermann Glacier Sheds 29 Square Miles of Ice in Arctic's Biggest Calving Since 2020
Updated
Updated · Space.com · Aug 24
Petermann Glacier Sheds 29 Square Miles of Ice in Arctic's Biggest Calving Since 2020
3 articles · Updated · Space.com · Aug 24
Summary
August 4 Sentinel-1 imagery showed a 29-square-mile section of Petermann Glacier’s floating ice tongue had broken away in northwest Greenland, marking its sharpest floating-ice loss since 2012.
The European Space Agency said the break is the Arctic’s most significant calving event since 2020, captured through long-term satellite monitoring of the glacier linking the Greenland ice sheet to the ocean.
Warming oceans and broader climate change are eroding Arctic ice, and scientists say tracking such breakups helps explain how calving alters glacier dynamics, sea-level rise and the marine environment.
Petermann’s ice tongue had previously stretched about 43 miles long and 9 miles wide, underscoring the scale of loss as Greenland’s outlet glaciers continue to retreat.