page_title: Wiener Neustadt Island
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Wiener Neustadt Island / Geography
caption_attribution_description: To download the full resolution and other files go to: earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=76883&amp;src=... Located just 600 miles (970 kilometers) from the North Pole, Franz Josef Land is perpetually coated with ice. Glaciers cover roughly 85 percent of the archipelago’s land masses, and sea ice floats in the channels between islands even in the summertime. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite observed the islands of central Franz Josef Land on August 16 and 19, 2011. (Another sensor on Terra captured a wider view on August 17, 2011.) The image above was made from a combination of visible and near-infrared wavelengths, and ice appears in shades of white and pale blue. The amount of sea ice filling the channels between the islands of Franz Josef Land varies from summer to summer. Captured toward the end of the Northern Hemisphere melt season, this shot shows a modest amount of sea ice on the ocean surface. Some of the ice has accumulated in bays like the one near northeastern Zieger Island. Most of the ice in this scene is anchored to land, as large glaciers blanket the islands. Yet today’s glaciers are tiny compared to the ice sheet that dominated the region about 20,000 years ago. Studies of Franz Josef Land have actually contributed to a larger understanding of when that massive ice sheet began its slow retreat. Raised beaches, which preserve evidence of land rising as the crushing weight of overlying glaciers eases (known as isostatic rebound), were first recognized on the islands in the late nineteenth century. Researchers estimate that the giant ice sheet had retreated by about 10,000 years ago. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. Caption by Michon Scott with information from Walt Meier and Ted Scambos, National Snow and Ice Data Center. The Earth Observatory's mission is to share with the public the images, stories, and discoveries about climate and the environment that emerge from NASA research, including its satellite missions, in-the-field research, and climate models. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Add us to your circles on Google+
context_page_description: Wiener Neustadt Island
  is an island in Franz Josef Land, Russian Federation.
context_section_description: Wiener Neustadt Island is part of the Zichy Land subgroup of the Franz Josef Archipelago. It is separated from Ziegler Island and Salisbury Island by the narrow Collinson Sound (Proliv Kollinsona).
  Wiener Neustadt Island's area is 237 km² and it is almost completely glacierized. The highest point of this island, Peak Parnass, is 620 m, the highest in Franz Josef Land.
caption: Various islands of Franz Josef Land
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