This ALOS-1 satellite image shows the condition of Amery Ice Shelf in Antarctica, 10 years before the calving event that created the iceberg known as D-28. The image was acquired by the PALSAR instrument on 8 September 2009.

The Amery Ice Shelf is a large platform of glacial ice floating on the ocean, located between the Lars Christensen Coast and the Ingrid Christensen Coast. A shelf forms where there are no strong currents, causing the ice to become partly grounded on the sea bottom and attach itself to rocks and islands. The shelf is pushed forward by glacial pressure until it meets sea currents.

In the image, we can see the extent of the ice shelf and the distinctive rifts in the centre. The larger rifts on the left continued to expand until 2019, when a 1,600 square kilometre area of ice broke off to form the D-28 iceberg.