B15 is gone

B15-J from the air

The other day when we were flying in we passed right over B15-J, the last remnant of the mega iceberg that has been blocking the three Adelie Penguin colonies on Ross Island for the last 4 years. This piece was grounded in front of Cape Crozier until a few months ago, when it finally broke loose and floated north. It has been causing all kinds of problems for the penguins because it blocked access both to the breeding colonies and to the foraging areas, so we're very excited to see how the penguins do this year without the iceberg blocking their way.













B15-J (red arrow) grounded in front of Cape Crozier (blue star) in November 2005 (left) and 200 km away in November 2006 (right).