Today’s Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features the frozen landscape of Graham Coast, which is located on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula.

“The Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost and warmest region of the Antarctic continent. It resembles a 1000-km-long arm, stretching towards the southern tip of South America,” says ESA.

“The west coast of the peninsula is home to over 100 large glaciers, some of which are visible in this image; from the right: Murphy, Wilkinson, Drummond, Erskine, Widmark, Hugi, Lawrie, Weir and Comrie.”

A team of scientists used satellite data to measure the speed of glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula. The experts determined that these glaciers are flowing faster than expected in the summer months.

“While some ice melts into the ocean, some breaks off into icebergs,” says ESA. “The dark color of the waters in the image allows us to easily spot many icebergs floating along the coast, as well as fragmented sea ice.”

Image Credit: ESA

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Editor

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