14 DAY TRIAL // The image above shows a portion of the Pine Island Glacier a few months after it separated from the Antarctic ice sheet, and began its long journey out of the Southern Ocean. The newly-minted iceberg was until now part of the critically-important Pine Island Glacier.
This glacier is responsible for draining up to 10 percent of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the portion of the continent that is melting fastest. Any acceleration in its advance speed can be easily recognized in global sea levels.
This photo was snapped by the Moderate Resolution Image Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Aqua satellite, on Sunday, November 10. Scientists believe that the actual separation between the iceberg and the ice sheet occurred sometime around July 10, 2013.
MODIS reveals that the new iceberg is roughly the size of Singapore, measuring 35 by 20 kilometers (21 by 12 miles). Experts from the University of Sheffield and the University of Southampton are already tracking its progress through the South Ocean.