![]() With the planet warming up as a result of anthropogenic climate change, the Greenland ice sheet is losing mass. Titanic twist: 1912 wasn’t a bad year for icebergs after all Only two years, 19, in the 122-year time series have reported no icebergs journeying south of 48 degrees north. This occurred in 20, where only one iceberg was observed in 2011, which saw two icebergs and in 2013, where 13 icebergs were recorded. More recently, 1,515 icebergs were spotted in 2019, a year characterized with colder than normal spring temperatures and immediately following another cold period in the mid-2010s.īut these numbers decrease drastically during years characterized by milder winters and an early spring. The 1980s and ‘90s were an especially cold period in the region, and more than 1,500 icebergs were observed during some of those years, with a record high of 2,202 in 1984. These annual counts are extremely variable and affected by the climate of the North Atlantic. In an average year, nearly 800 icebergs are expected to cross the boundary, which lies just north of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The International Ice Patrol’s annual count of the number of icebergs that slip south of 48 degrees north provides the longest and most reliable time series of icebergs in Newfoundland. Coast Guard on behalf of several maritime nations, was created to monitor iceberg dangers for ships in the North Atlantic. Following this tragedy, in 1913, the International Ice Patrol, operated by the U.S. That year was not an abnormal one for icebergs, with 1,038 icebergs reported. The most famous of these icebergs is probably the one that sank the Titanic just south of the tip of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland in 1912. While these icebergs can live for as long as a decade, those reaching Newfoundland are generally one to two years old. The same pressure pushes the glaciers - rivers of ice funnelled by numerous fjords - towards the ocean where they calve and form icebergs.Ī subset of these icebergs, mostly originating from the west coast of Greenland, will reach Newfoundland. The pressure that comes from the enormous weight transforms the snow into ice. The Greenland ice sheet is the result of thousands of years of snow accumulation that has reached a thickness of more than one kilometre. Data: General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans. Iceberg season is May – July. You don’t have to take to the water to see them, they can often be spotted from the Newfoundland shore, but if they’re around, getting out among them is an unmissable experience.The air is noticeably cooler as you approach the huge turquoise flanks of the icy giants – the same kind that caused the sinking of the Titanic.Īn estimated 10,000 – 30,000 icebergs migrate south from Greenland every year, about 2,000 of which make it to the warm waters of the Gulf Stream where they eventually melt away after a 2-4 year, 3,200km journey. A melting berg often fractures throwing ice chips and knife-sharp splinters in all directions.The icebergs that arrive in Newfoundland calve from the west coast of Greenland and follow ocean currents to the south. A database of ship collisions with icebergs concentrates on collisions in this North Atlantic area, and lists over 560 incidents from 1810 to the present. Iceberg Alley is the area from Baffin Bay (where icebergs enter the water from the massive glaciers on the southwest coast of Greenland) down to the east coast of Newfoundland and Labrador where the bergs enter the shipping lanes.Ī typical “small” iceberg looms 5-15 meters above water level and weighs about 100,000 tons. The sea here is generally littered with “bergy bits” – floating chunks of ice that weigh around 10,000 tons – and “growlers” – smaller pieces the size of a grand piano weighing about 1,000 tons.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |