An
oblong iceberg roughly as big as Rhode Island called B-09B (center right in this
image) collided with the edge of the Mertz Glacier in eastern Antarctica this
month breaking away a new iceberg (top left) that is nearly as large at B-09B.
This image from Feb. 20, 2010, is one of a series of images from NASA's Aqua
satellite that showed the progression and aftermath of the collision. The
floating ice tongue of the glacier is created as ice flows down from Antarctica
and onto the water. Glacier tongues grow longer year by year until they
eventually break off, calving a new iceberg.
Image Credit: NASA
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.
Iceberg
off Mertz Glacier Tongue NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen,
using EO-1
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.
Credit:
U.S. Coast Guard,
The National Ice Center, Royal New Zealand Air Force,NOAA
Data
compiled from The British Antarctic Study, NASA, Environment Canada,
UNEP, EPA and other sources as stated and credited Researched by Charles
Welch-Updated daily This Website is a project of the The Ozone Hole Inc.
a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization http://www.theozonehole.com
