A multidecadal study of the number of Antarctic icebergs using scatterometer data

Tabular Antarctic icebergs are regularly formed by the separation of massive sections of ice from ice shelves and glaciers. The National Ice Center (NIC) uses a variety of satellite sensors to track large Antarctic icebergs and reports iceberg position,. According to the NIC database, the number of large Antarctic icebergs has been increasing in recent years. A long term analysis of Antarctic iceberg activity based on scatterometer and radiometer data is presented. Our analysis suggests this increase is largely due to improved resources and technological advancements for iceberg tracking. Recent calving events may represent natural variability in iceberg activity. This study identifies some of the advantages and limitations of tracking icebergs using scatterometer data.