Frederikshåb Isblink meltwater colors the Labrador Sea

Frederikshåb Isblink meltwater colors the Labrador Sea Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features Frederikshåb Isblink, a glacier in southwest Greenland that flows downward from the Greenland Ice Sheet. After winding through a series of valleys, the glacier flattens out on a delta along the coast. 

In this image xaotured by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8, meltwater draining from Frederikshåb is mixing with the darker waters of the Labrador Sea.

According to ESA, Greenland’s glaciers function like bulldozers, grinding away and pulverizing rocks along the land surface. This produces a powder called glacial flour, made up of silt and clay, that builds up in the water around the glaciers.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory 

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer