Petermania

This is the latest satellite image of the Petermann ice island off the southeast coast of Labrador, with some coastal communities and other localities also shown by way of reference.


The main Petermann ice island is still about 55 square kilometres in area, and was about 20 kilometres off the coast at the time it posed for this portrait. It is roughly comparable in size to Belle Isle, or nearly as large as the island of Manhattan.

The last several days it has been drifting southward in the Labrador Current, closely paralleling the coastline, at about 15 to 17 kilometres per day. If it does not move back out to sea, ground, or break up, there may be viewing opportunities from St. Lewis, the most-seaward community on the Labrador road network, early next week.

Smaller fragments of the Petermann glacier may be visible on this image near Camp Islands, at the northern entrance to the Strait of Belle Isle. "Smaller" is a relative term; they are still as large or larger as many seasonally-populated rock islands.

Other scattered bergs, many of substantial size, are also visible in the Strait of Belle Isle and off the coast.

Image: NASA/GSFC, Rapid Response, Terra satellite.