Two Antarctic icebergs drift thousands of kilometres towards South Georgia

Icebergs A81 and D32 have been drifting northwards into the Scotia Sea, in the South Atlantic Ocean. In October 2022, D32 calved from the Amery Ice Shelf in East Antarctica. In January 2023, A81 calved, or broke away, from the Brunt Ice Shelf on Antarctica’s Weddell Sea coast. In mid-October 2026, A81 covered around 1,340 km² and D32 around 106 km², according to the US National Ice Center.

The main image in this composite, acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites on 14 October 2026, shows both icebergs south-west of the island of South Georgia. In the lower panels, Copernicus Sentinel-2 images acquired on 20 January and 3 February 2023 show A81 breaking away, while Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar images acquired on 13 and 25 October 2022 show D32 calving. On the inset map, the lines trace the approximate drift paths of both icebergs from the Antarctic coast.

Data from the Copernicus Sentinel satellite missions support iceberg detection and tracking, helping monitor changes in ice extent, observe iceberg drift, and improve understanding of ice dynamics in the Southern Ocean.