Summary
The ERS Wind scatterometer provides frequent measurements of the microwave backscatter of the Antarctic region. From these data a time series of coarse resolution radar images are generated using normalised values of the backscatter. The drift tracks and speed of very large icebergs with horizontal dimensions of tens of kilometres are derived from these images. The area of the largest iceberg detected is about 8000 sq.km and smallest 185 sq.km. A combination of drift tracks of several icebergs demonstrates the continuity of the East Wind Drift round the East Antarctic coast. Typical values of drift speed averaged over 20 day intervals for these icebergs in the Antarctic continental slope current are up to 11 cm/s, with maximum values of 23 cm/s found between 45°E and 25°W. Drift speeds tend to be greater over the upper break of the continental slope than over the continental shelf or in deeper water. Several icebergs exhibit a retroflection in their tracks indicating a northwards connection between the westward flowing East Wind Drift and the eastward flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current.