Vibrant reds, emerald greens, brilliant whites, and pastel blues adornthis view of the area surrounding the Jakobshavn Glacier on the westerncoast of Greenland. The image is a false-color (near-infrared, green,blue) view acquired by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer’s nadircamera. The brightness of vegetation in the near-infrared contributes tothe reddish hues; glacial silt gives rise to the green color of thewater; and blue-colored melt ponds are visible in the bright white ice.A scattering of small icebergs in Disco Bay adds a touch of glitterysparkle to the scene.
The large island in the upper left is called Qeqertarsuaq. To the eastof this island, and just above image center, is the outlet of thefast-flowing Jakobshavn (or Ilulissat) glacier. Jakobshavn is consideredto have the highest iceberg production of all Greenland glaciers and isa major drainage outlet for a large portion of the western side of theice sheet. Icebergs released from the glacier drift slowly with theocean currents and pose hazards for shipping along the coast.
The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer views the daylit Earthcontinuously and the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82degrees south latitude is observed every 9 days. The MISR Browse Image Viewer provides access tolow-resolution true-color versions of these images. These data productswere generated from a portion of the imagery acquired on June 18, 2003during Terra orbit 18615. The image cover an area of about 254kilometers x 210 kilometers, and use data from blocks 34 to 35 withinWorld Reference System-2 path 10.
References & Resources
Image by NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team. Text by Clare Averill (Raytheon/JPL) and David J. Diner (JPL).
