Antarctica’s skull-shaped Vega Island loses snow cover as temperatures rise

Vega Island in Antarctica, known for its unusual skull-like appearance, is showing large areas of exposed dark ice as warmer winter temperatures and a lack of fresh snowfall alter its surface, according to NASA.

Located east of the Antarctic Peninsula in the Weddell Sea, the island's landscape of ice, rocky outcrops and glacial deposits resembles a skull in profile. A rocky peak forms what looks like an eye socket, while a ridge of glacial material resembles a mouth. The Bahia del Diablo, or Devil's Bay, Glacier forms the jawline.

Satellite images captured by the Operational Land Imager aboard Landsat 9 show the island on March 22, 2025, and October 10, 2026. While the March image shows the island largely covered in snow, the October image reveals extensive patches of darker, exposed ice.

According to glaciologist Mauri Pelto of Nichols College, above-average winter temperatures in 2026, particularly in June, contributed to the reduced snow cover.

The exposed ice also indicates that little fresh snow accumulated during winter. Existing snow was further reduced through sublimation, a process in which snow and ice turn directly into water vapour, and strong winds that carry snow away.

The change could accelerate melting in the coming months. Dark ice absorbs more solar energy than snow, potentially increasing surface temperatures as daylight hours grow longer.

Pelto said even a thin layer of fresh snow from a spring storm could temporarily slow the process. He also noted that continued melting could alter the island's distinctive appearance, wearing away its jawline and enlarging its eye socket.

Satellite observations over recent decades have also recorded ice loss from other glaciers on Vega Island and an expansion of areas where underlying bedrock is exposed.