Mile-long Icezilla Imaged by Landsat

June 13th, 2014 by Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D.

Yesterday, NASA released high-resolution satellite imagery from Landsat, showing the iceberg I’ve dubbed “Icezilla”.

I’ve back tracked through the daily MODIS imagery to find where it originated from, as shown in this Landsat image from May 23 (click for large version):
Icezilla-5-23-2014-Landsat

The latest Landsat image provided by NASA is from June 8, at which point the iceberg was about 1 mile long and about 800 ft. wide:
Icezilla-6-8-2014-Landsat

As I mentioned yesterday, this berg is so big that it was spotted from land, 20 miles to the south, on June 10. If it is sufficiently thick, Icezilla could last until July before it fully melts, since water temperatures in the vicinity appear to still be below 40 deg. F.


39 Responses to “Mile-long Icezilla Imaged by Landsat”

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  1. Gunga Din says:

    Icezilla. A thorn in the paw of CAGW.

    • E. Swanson says:

      Elsewhere:

      http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/State-in-Grip-of-Unexpected-Rise-of-Mercury/2014/06/14/article2280183.ece

      Not to forget, there’s a serious drought in California as well. And, the Eastern tropical Pacific has already produced two major hurricanes very early in historical terms.

      A little cooler here, a little more warming there results in higher average temperature, aka, global warming. Then too, what actually happened to end the last Interglacial period (the Eemian), when the glaciers began to pile up over Eastern Canada? Those feedbacks work in both directions and additional snow and ice over land results in locally colder conditions.

      • G says:

        Except it hasn’t resulted in “global warming”, at least nothing significant enough to be labeled “catastrophic” for going on 17+ years. Definitely nothing like what the models projected. CO2…er…”carbon pollution” reduction policy is being based on those models. If the observations supported the models’ projections, would they have changed the policy PR label from “Global Warming” to “Climate Change”?

        The “A” part of C”A”GW.

        Lots of theory and speculation. Some of it might even be sound. But nowhere near sound enough to justify the policy the Hockey Stick is being used to lever into place.
        (Maybe those on the lever have more than the climate on their minds?)

        • E. Swanson says:

          You give a re-play of typical denialist talking points. So, tell us how much warming has occurred since the 1998 El Nino, that is, over the past 15 years. Or, better yet, start your time series with the beginning of the so-called satellite “temperature” measurements in 1979, the latest UAH TLT showing a trend of 0.138C/dec for the globe and 0.193C/dec for the NH. Not to mention the fact that the sea-ice seasonal minimum over the Arctic Ocean has exhibited a substantial decline over the past 15 years, a decline which only a few models projected. Care to give us a scientific explanation for that decline?

          Lastly, tell us how many of the models referenced around here included the rapid increase in coal consumption by China and India, as well as the remarkable increase in the number of oil consuming cars and diesel trucks on the roads in China. The result has been massive tropospheric pollution in Asia, giving rise to news stories of killer smog in Beijing and other cities, which remind one of what the air looked like in the US in the 1960’s before the Clean Air Act. These emissions include both sulfate aerosols and black carbon soot, the large scale of the pollution, called the Asian Brown Cloud, can be seen from satellites.

          http://news.sciencemag.org/asia/2012/05/asian-brown-cloud-threatens-u.s.

          As for the use of the term “climate change”, please remember what the 1990’s acronym “IPCC” stands for and recall the name of the journal “Climatic Change”, which began publishing in 1978. Nothing new about the use of the term, since it’s long been obvious that the problem includes more than just AGW. Ever read Rasool and Schneider:

          Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Aerosols: Effects of Large Increases on Global Climate, Science 9 July 1971
          doi:10.1126/science.173.3992.138

          • JohnKl says:

            Hi E Swanson (not related to Gloria are you?),

            You stated:

            “Or, better yet, start your time series with the beginning of the so-called satellite “temperature” measurements in 1979, the latest UAH TLT showing a trend of 0.138C/dec for the globe and 0.193C/dec for the NH.”

            Nice note of skepticism in your tone, but not skeptical enough. Last I checked, Wikipedia lists at least 10 data ADJUSTMENTS made to the measurements. This includes a .1 deg C temp increase in 1998 to offset a theorized COOLING BIAS due to BELIEVE IT OR NOT ORBITAL SATELLITE DECAY.

            You further asserted:

            “Not to mention the fact that the sea-ice seasonal minimum over the Arctic Ocean has exhibited a substantial decline over the past 15 years, a decline which only a few models projected.”

            Hmmh! We will likely leave the ICE AGE at some point don’t you think? IMO, the best geological evidence indicates the permafrost and likely the polar ice-caps as well did not exist more than a few thousands of years ago.

            Have a great day!

          • Gunga Din says:

            E. Swanson says:
            June 16, 2014 at 11:32 AM

            You give a re-play of typical denialist talking points….

            =====================================================
            And you repeat the typical “catastrophist” talking points. (Though they usually say the “missing heat” is hiding somewhere we can’t measure rather than deny “the pause”.)

            As for the use of the term “climate change”, please remember what the 1990′s acronym “IPCC” stands for and recall the name of the journal “Climatic Change”, which began publishing in 1978. Nothing new about the use of the term, since it’s long been obvious that the problem includes more than just AGW. Ever read Rasool and Schneider:

            Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Aerosols: Effects of Large Increases on Global Climate, Science 9 July 1971
            doi:10.1126/science.173.3992.138

            =====================================================
            Hmmm…maybe some of those with their hand on the lever knew the whole “warming” thing wouldn’t last?

          • Fonzarelli says:

            Swan Song, the 17+ years of no warming is NOT a denialist talking point. I believe it comes out of Hadley…

        • Gunga Din says:

          OOPS!
          Usually the “Name (required)” is populated after I put in the first letter. This time it didn’t. “G” is me (sort of 8-).

  2. ossqss says:

    What, no GoPro and jetski’s in the area with snow boards?

    C’mon people, get with the program!

  3. ChasG says:

    Funny.

    The Weather Channel posted this today saying the ice is finally gone.

    http://www.weather.com/news/great-lakes-ice-free-june-20140613?hootPostID=cd72c83d7f44b5123a0175c0a94eb6d1

  4. Cunningham says:

    Dr Spencer, I thought I might reproduce an ironic comment that you made in response to Anthony Watts when an icicle from a near bye tower hit your porch:

    February 16, 2014 at 6:45 am
    Yes, Gaia is trying to do me in. Of course, I’m surrounded by large trees, so She is free to whack me with one of those at any time.

  5. HR says:

    We took a walk out to Lusk Caves at the weekend. Basically a very long tunnel, near the surface, carved out of the rock by a stream.

    http://www.ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places-to-visit/gatineau-park/lusk-cave

    It was surprising to still see ice just 10 metres into one of the tunnels even though temperatures have been 20oC-30oC for more than a month now.

    Somebody needs to inform all this ice that it’s ‘rotten’.

  6. JohnKl says:

    Hi Roy,

    You post this Icezilla thread after your thread on Kim Jong-un?!!! You’re stoking the fire and playing with family tradition! It may not be long now before some meteorologist climate modelers and film-makers get abducted by your’s truly (Kim Jong-un) and a whole new genre of Korean Godzilla sci-fi movies get made featuring Icezilla!!! Children and other stupefied movie goers will stare incomprehensibly as increasing CO2 warms the planet releasing Icezilla from her “ice-water mansion” in the Big Lake they call Gitche-Gumee! That they’ll have to wait til ‘SUMMER’ to see this flop due to record cold winters won’t discourage the true believers at all!

    Have a great day!

    • John K says:

      Hi Roy,

      My post above may seem fanciful, but for all we know Icezilla ATE the Edmund Fitzgerald! Remember where the song said:

      “…That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
      When the gales of November came early…”

      Ok! It’s a leap but perhaps! However, perhaps not so big a leap as CAGW!

      Have a great day!

    • Fonzarelli says:

      John, does my memory deceive me or did “ultra man” used to fight godzilla ?

      • JohnKl says:

        Fonzarelli,

        I’m sorry but you’ll need to do the Japanese monster/superhero-villain research on your own for the most part. However, I do believe godzilla fought Rodan, Monster zero and at one point King Kong. Keep up the research their might be a book in it somewhere.

        Have a great day!

  7. Norman says:

    Isn’t Icezilla caused by Catastrophic Anthopogenic Global Warming? I am sure the President’s science Czar made a video linking the ice still on Lake Superior to manmade global warming. I am sure he provided the best model money can buy to support it but I think he did accidently forget to add linking mechanisms. I guess the link managed to move to the deep ocean bypassing the surface water and hiding out with so much heat that if it ever rises to the surface it will vaporize the surface in an instant, I guess there is so much heat hiding down there that it would be like getting a kiss from the Sun.

  8. Robtzu says:

    If I idle my SUV will it help melt it faster?

  9. Beta Blocker says:

    Will camera crews be ready to capture the exact moment when Icezilla finally breaks up and the polar bears now riding on top of it are forced to swim for their lives?

  10. Meagan says:

    Why viewers still use to read news papers when in this technological globe all is presented on net?

    Here is my web blog; after effects tutorial text intro (Meagan)

    • Fonzarelli says:

      Newspapers go well with a cup of coffee… (try curling up with your iPad)

    • Gunga Din says:

      Not about newspapers exactly, but it’s a lot harder to change a printed record of something than it is to change a computer record and not leave a trace.
      Just something to keep in mind.

  11. bassman says:

    NASA .76 hottest May on record beating .70 from 2010 and 2012. 2014 is now tied with 2010 as the hottest year on record needing just .68 anomalies from here on out to be the warmest on record. The “pause” will soon be behind us.

    • geran says:

      Gosh, hottest year on record. And, we’re getting hotter still!

      Any more heat and the Great Lakes will be frozen solid all summer!

  12. bassman says:

    Geran, The key part of the phrase global warming is the word “global”.

    • geran says:

      Okay, so you mean, as in “global” sea ice?

      You know, the global sea ice that is within the statistical range for the last 35 years or so.

      You mean that “global”?

  13. bassman says:

    Geran, I made a great reply with lots of data but it is under moderation (too many links?).

    • geran says:

      Responses that come to mind:
      1) Yeah, right.
      2) Whatever happened to the classic “my dog ate my homework”?
      3) Hope the moderation clears out all the slanted/biased data.
      4) If you can’t state your point in 50 words or less (without links), you probably don’t have a point.
      5) How did YOU determine it was a “great” reply?
      6) I wonder if BASSman ever TROLLs for bass.
      7) Why does Bassman get to decide what the “key part” of “global warming” is? Don’t you wonder why “warming” is no longer the “key part”?
      8) Soooo, you’re the one causing the “pause” then?

      (I might have more comments, as things develop….)

  14. bassman says:

    Ok Geran its posted above. All of the links are to well respected sources which back up all of my claims. Don’t act childish on a blog. The internet has been around along time now. Just talk to people like you would in person (with respect and politeness).

    • Fonzarelli says:

      Bassman, you certainly come across with respect and politeness. I, for one, really appreciate that… I think most of us in the denialist camp would prefer to be respectful if we were getting the same in return. Unfortunately most of your particular persuasion are anything but. So what we’re seeing here is a kind of hatfield/mccoy scenario playing out. (One bad Appel stinks up the whole barrel) Don’t know what the answer to this is, perhaps you’re on the right track…

      Of note you might have noticed that Geran is quite savy, masterful, and as well has got a lot of moxy. (So you’ve been hounded by the best) I believe a while back doctor spencer revealed his true identity and it is doctor lindzen!!! I don’t know how true that is; perhaps he can confirm it for us…

      Keep up the good work. As an AGW skeptic, I’ve always enjoyed your well informed comments…

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