Large Iceberg Fractures off South Georgia Island: The Penguin Capital of the South Atlantic

South Georgia (HDW) August 31, 2004 - Iceberg A-38B floats off the coast of South Georgia Island, shown here in this picture from a NASA satellite taken August 16, 2004. Almost six years ago, this iceberg was part of the much larger A-38 iceberg, which calved from the Ronne Ice Shelf in an enormous 90-mile-long piece. When the iceberg calved, it was as large as South Georgia Island itself, though its immense weight quickly split it in two. For years the two halves of the iceberg have drifted in the Scotia Sea, slowly breaking into smaller pieces and melting back into the water.

In this image, a keen eye will discern the crack running along the northwestern end of the iceberg. Just four days later, the two pieces of the iceberg had completely separated. This was discovered in a later picture taken on August 20, 2004.