C19A - The World's Largest Iceberg
he world's biggest iceberg has split into two as a result of a fierce storm, AFP reported with reference to the Antarctic Sun newspaper.
Before the split, the biggest iceberg was called B15. The size of the iceberg was eleven square kilometers - the size of Jamaica. It was the largest lump of ice in history of all observations. The iceberg split into two at the end of October - B14A (the larger piece) and B15B (the smaller piece).
The largest iceberg in the world now is called C19A. It is presently located not far from the French base in Antarctica. It is 5.659 square kilometers large (the size of Brunei).
The B15 iceberg killed millions of penguins when it came off the mainland in March of 2000 and blocked the animals' access to the open sea. Researchers of Scripps Institution of Oceanography said, 75 percent of penguins' population in the Adely colony had been killed with the ice.
The above-mentioned newspaper also wrote, the US was intended to install a GPS satellite supervision station on the B15A iceberg to trace its location with precision. Seventeen icebergs have come off Antarctica during the recent 26 years.
C19A - The World's Largest Iceberg
Icebergs C19A
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An Iceberg is a floating mass of freshwater ice that has broken from the seaward end of a glacier or a polar ice sheet. Icebergs are typically found in open seas, especially around Greenland and Antarctica.
They form mostly during the spring and summer, when warmer weather increases the rate of calving (separation) of icebergs at the boundaries of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets and smaller outlying
glaciers. In the Northern Hemisphere, for example, about 10,000 icebergs are produced each year from the West Greenland glaciers, and an average of 375 flow
south of Newfoundland into the North Atlantic shipping lanes, where they are a
hazard to navigation.
Arctic icebergs vary in size from the size of a large piano, called growlers, to the dimensions of a 10-story building. Icebergs about the size of a small house are called bergy its.
Many icebergs in the Arctic are about 45 meters tall and 180 meters long.
US
Coast Guard C130 airplane flying over a large iceberg
US Coast Guard International Ice Patrol Image
Icebergs of the Antarctic not only are far more abundant but are of enormous dimensions compared with those in the Arctic. Ninety-three percent of the world's mass of icebergs is found surrounding the Antarctic.
Usually 1/8th of an iceberg is
above the waterline. That part consists of snow, which is not very compact. The
ice in the cold core is very compact (and thus relatively heavy) and keeps
7/8ths of the iceberg under water. The temperature in the core is constant:
between -15 and -20 degr. Centigrade. An iceberg that has tumbled over several
times, has lost is light snow layers and so the iceberg gets relatively heavier
then before (with the snow) and because of the greater compactness, only 1/10th
rises above the surface.
International Ice Patrol (IIP)
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do North Atlantic icebergs come from?
The principal origin of those icebergs that reach the North Atlantic Ocean are the 100 or so major tidewater glaciers of West Greenland.
Map
from Worldatlas.com
Between 10,000 to 15,000 icebergs
are calved each year, primarily from 20 major glaciers between the Jacobshaven
and Humboldt Glaciers. Since icebergs originate from Glaciers, they are
composed of fresh water. As described in the other FAQs, glaciers are formed by
thousands of years of snowfall accumulation which eventually is compressed into
ice. It is estimated that these glaciers account for 85% of the icebergs which
reach the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Other sources of icebergs are the East
Greenland glaciers, which produce about half the amount of icebergs as the West
Greenland glaciers, but account for only 10% of the icebergs reaching the Grand
Banks. The remaining 5% are thought to come from glaciers and ice shelves of
northern Ellesmere Island.
What is the life cycle of an iceberg?
The life cycle of a typical iceberg found in the North Atlantic today might look something like this:
1,000 B.C. Snow/Firn
950 B.C. Ice/Glacier
-- Glacier movement
1998 A.D. Calving
2001 A.D. Iceberg melt
Snow falls on the ice cap of Greenland. Then over the course of several months
it changes into firn, which is basically a granular snow. Several decades later
it is compressed into very dense ice by the weight of the firn and snow that
have accumulated on top of it. Therefore, icebergs are composed of fresh water.
Driven by the enormous weight of the ice cap above, the ice begins to flow
seaward through openings in the fringe of the mountains (thinking of it like
water leaking out of a cracked bowl may help). This force moves the rivers of
ice known as glaciers up to sixty five feet a day, eventually pushing the ice to
Greenland's western coast.
At the glacier's terminus or end, huge slabs of ice are weakened and then broken by the action of the rising and
falling tides. This process is called calving and results in an iceberg's birth.
By the time these mountains of ice enter Baffin Bay they have seen nearly 3,000 years pass. Once waterborne, icebergs are driven by strong subsurface currents, the core's of which a relocated at a depth of approximately fifty meters (This occurs because 7/8 of an icebergs mass rests below the waterline). Therefore, deeper currents have greater surface area to push against compared to winds or wind generated surface currents. This is why it is not uncommon to see icebergs heading directly into strong winds. In order for an iceberg to reach the North Atlantic the currents typically take it from Baffin Bay through the Davis Strait and Labrador Sea.
This is a long trip and most icebergs never make it. Most icebergs melt well before entering the Atlantic Ocean. One estimate is that of the 15,000 to 30,000 icebergs produced annually by the glaciers of Greenland only one percent (150 to 300) ever make it to the Atlantic Ocean. When an iceberg does happen to reach the Atlantic its long and traveled life quickly comes to an end melting rapidly in the warm waters. At most it will take two months to melt unlike icebergs stuck in parts of Baffin Bay where it can take upwards of four years for a berg to melt.
How many icebergs last long enough to reach the Atlantic shipping lanes (south of 48 N)?
The mean number of icebergs passing south of 48 N is 473 icebergs with a standard deviation of 492 icebergs. Therefore, yearly totals are highly variable and are subject to highly variable climatic factors
Where is iceberg alley?
The area we call "Iceberg Alley" is located about 250 miles east and southeast of the island of Newfoundland, Canada. Iceberg Alley is usually considered to be that portion of
the Labrador Current, that flows southward from Flemish Pass, along the eastern
edge of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, to the Tail of the Banks. This area
extends approximately from 48 to 43 degrees North Latitude at 48 degrees West
longitude. Icebergs and sea ice flowing south from Iceberg Alley created the
Titanic disaster of 1912. This is the area of the ocean we patrol and monitor
most carefully.
What are the shapes and sizes of icebergs?
ICEBERG SHAPE CLASSIFICATION
TABULAR: An iceberg with steep
sides and flat top having a length-to-height ratio greater than 5:1. Many show
horizontal banding.
NON-TABULAR: Describes all icebergs that are not tabular shaped as described above. This category is further
subdivided to include the specific shapes described below. If no other
description applies, the iceberg is simply referred to as a non-tabular.
Non-Tabular Iceberg Shape
Classifications
DOME: An iceberg with a rounded
top
PINNACLE: An iceberg with one or
more spires
WEDGE: An iceberg having a steep
vertical side on one end and sloping on the other
DRY-DOCK: An iceberg that has
eroded so a slot or channel is formed
BLOCKY: An iceberg with a flat top
and steep vertical sides
What are the most dangerous icebergs?
All icebergs are dangerous to shipping but depending on its size, shape and location some icebergs can be more troublesome than others. Obviously, icebergs nearest the Atlantic shipping lanes are of greatest concern to mariners. Large icebergs, because of their great mass, can inflict the most damage on a ship. However, they are usually easy to detect on a ship's radar and therefore can be avoided. On the other hand, the smaller an iceberg, the harder it is for ships to detect and avoid. For example, many growlers or bergy bits are mostly submerged and are about the size a small vessel. These "hidden" icebergs can cause a significant amount of damage to a vessel. Lastly, an iceberg's shape is a factor. A smoothed iceberg can be more difficult to detect.
What
is the typical size of an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean?
SIZE CATEGORY % OF TOTAL
Growler 5.6%
Small 15.3%
Medium 15.3%
Large 12.5%
Very Large 2.8%
General 48.5%
(Size Unknown)
How much of an iceberg is below
the water?
About 7/8ths of an iceberg is
below the water line. This figure is approximate. Although icebergs are similar,
not all are the same. Varying factors are iceberg density, water density etc.
Keep in mind we are talking about an iceberg's mass. Due to irregular iceberg
shapes, icebergs may have varying heights out of the water, but mass is
relatively consistent. The following provides further background information:
Buoyancy
Buoyancy is the upward force exerted on an object immersed in a fluid. Of course, water is the most common fluid, but buoyancy also applies to hot air balloons (where the fluid is the surrounding air) and many other situations. What's the basic idea?
Archimedes figured out that the key to buoyancy is how much volume the object displaces compared to its weight. Archimedes Principle of buoyancy states that the upward force on an object in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid that is displaced. If this buoyant force is less than the weight of the object itself, the object will be left with a net downward force and will sink. If the object floats, it floats enough that the buoyant force exactly balances its weight.
For solid, uniform objects like an iceberg, this boils down to the object's mass density, its mass divided by its volume, usually represented by the Greek letter . For something like a boat hull, which is hollow, not uniform, you have to just look at the total weight and the volume of displaced water.
Icebergs of the Antarctic
Map
from Worldatlas.com
Iceberg names are derived from the Antarctic quadrant in which they were originally sighted. The quadrants are divided counter-clockwise in the following manner:
A = 0-90W (Bellinghausen/Weddell Sea)
B = 90W-180 (Amundsen/Eastern Ross Sea)
C = 180-90E (Western Ross Sea/Wilkesland)
D = 90E-0 (Amery/Eastern Weddell Sea)
When an iceberg is first sighted, The National Ice Center documents its point of origin. The letter of the quadrant, along with a sequential number is assigned to the iceberg.
The National Ice Center is a tri-agency operational center represented by the United States Navy (Department of Defense); the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Department of Commerce); and the United States Coast Guard (Department of Transportation). The National Ice Center mission is to provide world-wide operational ice analyses for the armed forces of the United States and allied nations, U.S. government agencies, and the private sector.
Iceberg B-15J Calves Iceberg Named B-15S
MODIS image of B-15J AND B-15S
February 02, 2007, Washington, DC-- The National Ice Center (NIC) was informed by the Antarctic Meteorological Research Center that iceberg B-15J (Figure 1) has calved a new iceberg that meets criteria for naming and tracking by the NIC. The new iceberg will be named B-15S. This iceberg marks the 18th calving event of icebergs belonging to the B-15 series. B-15S is located at 76 03' 11" South, 168 08' 35" East, near Franklin Island in the Central Ross Sea. Iceberg B-15S measures 10 nautical miles on its longest axis and 2 nautical miles on its widest axis.
The National Ice Center is a tri-agency operational center represented by the United States Navy (Department of Defense), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Department of Commerce), and the United States Coast Guard (Department of Homeland Security). The National Ice Center mission is to provide the highest quality strategic and tactical ice services tailored to meet the operational requirements of U.S. national interests and to provide specialized meteorological and oceanographic services to United States government agencies.
National Ice Center Naval Ice Center Liaison Branch
Iceberg Video
Storm cuts world's biggest iceberg C19A
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The huge original iceberg, named B15 and measuring 11,000 square kilometers (4,400 square miles) broke into two pieces over the past month, according to data from satellites above the frozen southern continent.
A jagged fracture spread across the iceberg, causing the split which "was expected eventually," said Mike Williams of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric research, on Tuesday.
B15 had been grounded off the Ross Sea ice shelf coast of Antarctica for more than three years, pounded by storms and waves and tugged by coastal ocean currents.
The two pieces, designated B15A and B15J by the U.S. National Ice Center in Maryland, are now slowly edging their way along the Ross Sea, he said.
"They are still grounded on the Ross Sea floor by their weight," he said, adding there must have been "some inherent weakness" in the iceberg where it split in two.
Eight other minor bergs have "calved" from B15 and drifted out of the Ross Sea region. The area is surrounded by the massive Ross ice shelf, a field of floating ice the size of France.
U.S. iceberg researchers planted a global positioning system on B15A last week to track the movement of the giant ice block, the Antarctic Sun newspaper reported Sunday.
It quoted Doug MacAyeal, a glaciologist at the University of Chicago working in Antarctica, as saying he wanted to track an iceberg through its phases until it disappears to write what he called a "users' guide to icebergs."
The Ross Sea is on the Antarctic coast, 3,832 kilometers (2,395 miles) south of New Zealand.
In March 2000, when B15 broke from the Ross Ice Shelf, it was identified as the longest known iceberg. While B15A remains immense, the title of iceberg king has passed to C19A, which is about 5,659 square kilometers (2,264 square miles), according to the Sun.
World's largest iceberg C19A splits in two
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The world's largest iceberg has split in two after being pummelled by a powerful storm, the Antarctic Sun newspaper reported.
B15, an 11,000-square-kilometre monster the size of Jamaica, was one of the biggest icebergs ever seen until it broke up last month, said the weekly paper seen here today.
The title of world's largest iceberg now passes to C19A, near a French Antarctic base, which at 5,659 square kilometres is about the size of Brunei.
B15 has been blamed for the deaths of millions of penguins since it broke away from the Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000, blocking their access to the sea.
Last Friday US researchers planted a weather and global positioning tower on the newly formed B15A so that it could be more closely tracked, the Antarctic Sun said.
Penguin researcher Gerald Kooyman of Scripps Institution of Oceanography told the newspaper that nearly 75 per cent of the emperor penguins previously counted at Cape Crozier on Ross Island are no longer around.
What is C19A?
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What is C19A? It is now the largest iceberg in the world. Apparently icebergs are givens name probably having something to do with there coordinates on a map.
C19A is approximately 2,264 square miles in size, that is huge. C19A became the largest iceberg in the world after the previous largest iceberg cracked into two different rocks
