Petermann 2012 Calving Event

On July 16, 2012, between 1000 and 1200 UTC, a large section of the Petermann Glacier’s floating ice tongue calved into the Petermann Fiord, creating a new ice island. The estimated area of the main ice island is approximately 130 km², equivalent to roughly one quarter of the size of Montreal island (ice island size compared to other Canadian cities) and approximately half the size of the Petermann ice island that calved in August 2010. Ice islands from this glacier drifts southwards into Baffin Bay and periodically down the Labrador coast, sometimes reaching Newfoundland, where they pose a hazard to shipping and navigation.