NASA Space Station Photo of Iceberg A-39D

This photo of melt-water pooled on the surface of iceberg A-39D, a 2 x 11 kilometers iceberg currently located near South Georgia Island, was taken by an Expedition 8 crewmember on the International Space Station (ISS). The different intensities of blue are interpreted as different water depths. From the orientation of the iceberg, the deepest water (darkest blue) lies at the westernmost end of the iceberg. The water pools have formed from snowmelt – late January is the peak of the southern summer. This iceberg was part of the original A-38 iceberg that calved from the Ronne Ice Shelf in October 1998. Originally the ice was between 200 and 350 meters thick. This piece of that iceberg is now probably about 150 meters thick, with around 15 meters sticking up above the surface of the water.

Hi res version online at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-8/html/iss008e12555.html