Record sea ice in Gulf of Finland - related image preview

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Record sea ice in Gulf of Finland

The bitter cold snap bearing down on northwest Russia has also locked the Gulf of Finland up in ice. This true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from January 10, 2003, shows the frozen Gulf, which is bound at north by Finland, at south by Estonia, and on the east by Russia. At the far eastern end of the Gulf lies the city of St. Petersburg, an important port for regional trade. Now completely frozen, the port is holding some 26 ships locked up in ice. The faint gray lines running across the gulf shows the attempts by ice breakers to keep shipping lanes open. There is concern that many ships are not prepared for such dangerous ice conditions, and there is particular concern that oil tankers may be damaged and begin to leak.


Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published January 19, 2003
Data acquired January 10 - 10, 2003

Source:
Terra > MODIS