Arctic ice island forms as Greenland’s Petermann Glacier calves, tracked by Sentinel-1
Sentinel-1 radar imagery captured a 76 sq km section of Petermann Glacier’s floating ice tongue detaching on 4 August 2026, forming a Manhattan-sized ice island up to 150 metres thick—the Arctic’s largest calving event since 2020. The researchers warn two additional large detachments (≈97 and 87 sq km) could follow as fractures propagate. The one-day repeat radar data enabled near‑real‑time monitoring, underscoring the value of Copernicus Sentinel-1 for tracking glacier dynamics and potential impacts on shipping and the Arctic environment.
