Ocean Color Image Gallery

Drifting Behemoth

Iceberg A23a , the largest in the world currently, is floating away from the waters surrounding Antarctica. It covers an area that is roughly the size of the state of Rhode Island (4000 km2) and in some places has a thickness comparable to the height of the Empire State Building (400 m).

The giant will most likely find its way into the Antarctic Circumpolar Current . There it will continue melting away and contribute to feeding phytoplankton with the minerals it leaches in the ocean.

This image was captured by the OLI-2 instrument aboard Landsat 9 on November 14, 2023