A series of satellite images from 2002 through 2009 illustrate that the terminus of the glacier has advanced towards the ocean, however, several lateral rifts have developed also.
The distance of this rifts or cracks back from the terminus has diminished for this time period also and may serve as a precursor to natural ice calving from Petermann Glacier.
A large chunk estimated to be 100 square miles (260 km²) calved off the glacier in August, 2010.
The Danish Meteorological Institutes maintains an archive of imagery of Petermann Glacier and adjacent coastal areas of Greenland from both European and US satellites and sensors such as Envisat, MODIS, and AVHRR.

Data from Operation IceBridge show a 750 km long subglacial canyon running from the center of the island northward to the fjord of the Petermann Glacier.
Dubbed "Greenland Grand Canyon" by media, the bottom is below sea level, and the canyon is likely to have influenced basal water flow from the ice sheet interior to the margin.
The canyon predates ice sheet inception and has influenced basal hydrology in Greenland over past glacial cycles.
A series of satellite images from 2002 through 2009 illustrate that the terminus of the glacier has advanced towards the ocean, however, several lateral rifts have developed also. The distance of this rifts or cracks back from the terminus has diminished for this time period also and may serve as a precursor to natural ice calving from Petermann Glacier. A large chunk estimated to be 100 square miles (260 km²) calved off the glacier in August, 2010. The Danish Meteorological Institutes maintains an archive of imagery of Petermann Glacier and adjacent coastal areas of Greenland from both European and US satellites and sensors such as Envisat, MODIS, and AVHRR.
Data from Operation IceBridge show a 750 km long subglacial canyon running from the center of the island northward to the fjord of the Petermann Glacier. Dubbed "Greenland Grand Canyon" by media, the bottom is below sea level, and the canyon is likely to have influenced basal water flow from the ice sheet interior to the margin. The canyon predates ice sheet inception and has influenced basal hydrology in Greenland over past glacial cycles.
Petermann Glacier