NASA Images Show Dramatic Melting During Antarctica Heat Wave - The Weather Channel

Environment

Ice Melt in Antarctica

Warm temperatures caused melting on and around Eagle Island in Antarctica in the first half of February. The first image, which shows a more thorough coverage of snow and ice, was taken Feb. 4, 2020, by the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8. The second image was taken Feb. 13, 2020.

(NASA Earth Observatory)

The melting happened between Feb. 4 and 13.
Feb. 6 reached 65 degrees, believed to be the highest temperature ever recorded on the continent.
About 20% of the snow melted.

Twenty percent of the snow on one ice cap in Antarctica melted during a recent heat wave, and satellite images captured the dramatic before and after effects.

The melting happened between Feb. 4 and 13, a period that included what is likely the highest temperature ever recorded on the continent, according to a news release from NASA's Earth Observatory.

The images, acquired by the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8, show Eagle Island nearly covered in snow on Feb. 4. By Feb. 13, large swaths of barren land had appeared. The blue portions in the later photo are areas where snowpack is saturated by water due to melting.

(MORE: Antarctica May Have Just Set a New All-Time Continental Record High)

A research station in Antarctica recorded a temperature of 65 degrees on Feb. 6, believed to be the hottest day ever on the continent. Warmer than usual temperatures continued over the next week.

In total, about 4 inches of the snowpack on Eagle Island melted and 20% of seasonal snow accumulation disappeared, according to NASA.

"I haven’t seen melt ponds develop this quickly in Antarctica," said Mauri Pelto, a glaciologist at Nichols College. "You see these kinds of melt events in Alaska and Greenland, but not usually in Antarctica."

Warmer temperatures are becoming more common in Antarctica. Data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center show that some parts of the region have warmed 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1950.

The February heat wave was the third major melt event during Antarctica's current summer season, following previous warm periods in November and January.

"If you think about this one event in February, it isn’t that significant," Pelto said. "It’s more significant that these events are coming more frequently."

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