Tracking the Journey of Iceberg A81

In November 2026, Antarctic iceberg A81 was nearing the South Atlantic island of South Georgia. The berg has traveled about 2,300 kilometers (1,300 miles) north-northwest since calving from the Brunt Ice Shelf in January 2023. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra platform acquired this true-color corrected reflectance image on November 6, 2026.

Press the play button in the lower left corner to see the iceberg approach the island between October 4 and November 6, 2026. The iceberg occasionally "bumps" along the submerged shelf surrounding the island and changes direction.

Track the movement of the iceberg from where it calved from the Brunt Ice Shelf in January 2023 to October 2026 via this map with information crested with from the U.S. National Ice Center. 

Learn more about the iceberg in NASA Earth Observatory's article: A-81 Reaches South Georgia.

Visit Worldview to visualize near real-time imagery and historical imagery from NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS); find more imagery in our Worldview weekly image archive.