Science & Technology

NASA photographs second rectangular iceberg

By T.K. Randall
October 25, 2018 ·  44 comments

It turns out that tabular icebergs are not that uncommon. Image Credit: NASA / Jeremy Harbeck The iceberg, just like the last one, was captured on camera off the Larsen C ice shelf as part of an ongoing project aimed at monitoring changes in the polar ice caps.

While this one is not quite as geometrically precise as the one that went viral last week, it does demonstrate that this particular phenomenon is actually quite common.

Icebergs of this type, which are known as tabular icebergs, typically split from the edges of ice sheets through a process that is not dissimilar to a fingernail growing too long and breaking off at the end.

A photograph of the previous iceberg can be viewed - here."I thought it was pretty interesting; I often see icebergs with relatively straight edges, but I've not really seen one before with two corners at such right angles like this one had," said IceBridge senior support scientist Jeremy Harbeck who photographed both icebergs.

Aerial footage taken during his recent flyover of the area can be viewed below.

Wow, it's been amazing to see what a splash our photo of a tabular Antarctic iceberg, by #IceBridge's Jeremy Harbeck, has made. Fly toward the berg with @NASAArmstrong's DC-8 forward camera. More: https://t.co/kADuUL455F pic.twitter.com/tm4Rydh8V3

— NASA ICE (@NASA_ICE) October 23, 2018

Source: Evening Standard | Comments (44)

Tags: Iceberg