Gigantic chunks of ice, breaking off glaciers and floating freely in the seas and oceans, have always attracted the attention of people, especially scientists. Icebergs are truly unique and amazing objects of nature.
The first people to discover the great ice of Antarctica are Lazarev and Bellingshausen - Russian travelers and explorers.
Icebergs are divided into 3 categories:
- table-shaped,
- domed
- pyramidal.
In this article we will look at the largest icebergs in the world.
10. Joseph Fletcher's Iceberg | 90 km2
Joseph Fletcher Iceberg (T-3 iceberg) - one of the most famous icebergs discovered by polar explorer Joseph Fletcher in the late 40s of the last century. Its area was 90 km2and the thickness is up to 50 meters. In 1952-1978, research stations were located many times on the glacier.
According to unconfirmed reports, in the early 80s of the last century it was carried away by the current to the North Atlantic, after which it melted.
9. Iceberg in the Northern Hemisphere | 260 km2
The largest iceberg of the northern hemisphere over the past 50 years there has been a glacier recorded near the island of Greenland in 2010. Its total area was about 260 km2. For comparison: it was the size of 1/3 of the area of Kiev.
Under the influence of the warm current of the Atlantic Ocean, the glacier has melted. If he had shifted to the southern part of Greenland, he would have blocked the way for ships in the North Atlantic.
8. Brixdahl Glacier | 1,500 km2
Brixdahl Glacierbelonging to the Jostedal Glacier, is located next to Olden, in Norway. Its area is about 1.5 thousand km2.
Jostedal has about 50 branches, one of which is the Brixdal Glacier. Brixdahl is one of Norway's main tourist attractions.
The administration has organized many routes for the choice of tourists, the most popular of which are 4:
- Walking length of about 3000 m, which will take about 3 hours to go through it.
- The Glacier Hike route, which includes visits to three glaciers: Brixdahl, Melkevol and Brendal.
- Glacial safari, the path along which begins from Lake Brixdalsvatnet and ends at the opposite end of the glacier. Rafting on the lake takes about half an hour.
- Individual hike with a guide. You can climb a giant block on your own, but only with a qualified guide. Before the start of the trip, special equipment is issued, thanks to which you can see all the beauty of the glacier.
7. Iceberg C19A | 5 500 km2
C19A - The first glacier to get its own name - “Melting Bob”. He broke away from B15 glacier and began to drift in 2002, located near Antarctica, in the western part of the Ross Sea. The area of the giant glacier - 5.5 thousand km2. Due to the inaccessible location (it is surrounded by small glaciers), it cannot be approached for a more detailed study. However, despite this, scientists managed to install equipment on the C19A that allows you to monitor its movements and temperature changes inside it.
The western part of the Ross Sea is a truly unique place. Gigantic lumps can remain in this place for a long time and not melt. Over the past 5 years, about 17 ice blocks have broken away from Antarctica.
6. Iceberg A-38 | 6900 km2
A-38 - The largest iceberg in the last decade, separated from the Filchner - Ronne glacier in Antarctica in 1998. It had the following dimensions: length - more than 144 km, width - 48 km, total area - 6900 km2.
In October 1998, the A-38 began to gradually collapse, forming the A-38B. In April 2004, it was about 46 km long. On April 15, 2004, the MODIS satellite recorded that it had split into two parts.
5. Iceberg B15 | 11 000 km2
B15 - the largest iceberg in the history of the world. The glacier was recorded in March 2000. The total area of the block was 11 thousand km2and the mass is 3 trillion tons.
From 2000 to 2003, it began to split into small parts, the largest of which was the B15A glacier, with an area of 6.4 thousand. In November 2003, the B15A went to the Ross Sea.
In 2005, a clash occurred between both B15 and the Drigalski language. As a result of this collision, the map of Antarctica changed.
B15A in 2004-2005 became a source of fresh water for three research stations at once. Unfortunately, because of him, the number of penguins, Weddell seals and skuas has decreased.
Gradually cracking glacier completely melted about 10 years ago.
4. Iceberg "Titanic" | Unknown area
Iceberg, which caused the collapse of the legendary ship "Titanic", broke away from a glacier in Melville Bay, located in Greenland, June 24, 1910, at 12:45. The glacial mountain had a weight of 420 thousand tons and a height of 105 meters.
After the collision with the Titanic on April 14, 1912, the iceberg was caught by the current, and after 6 months he reached Franz Joseph Land.
It was here, having wintered until the summer of 1913, a massive glacier dissolved in water.
3. Iceberg "Santa Maria" | 31 000 km2
Santa Maria - The largest iceberg discovered in the Atlantic Ocean in 1956. Its length was 97 km, and its width and height were 56 and 45 km, respectively.
"Santa Maria" was investigated by specialists from the American ship U.S.S. Glacier Unfortunately, a detailed study did not work: swimming around the Arctic, the iceberg split and melted.
2. Larsen C | 44,200 km2
Larsen S - a glacier breaking away from the Larsen ice shelf, consisting of 3 blocks (Larsen A, B and C) and located near the Antarctic Peninsula. Initially, the total area of the Larsen ice shelf was equal to the area of Slovakia. The area of the Larsen C glacier was 44,200 km2.
From July 10 to 12, 2017, a block broke away from Larsen C, which reduced its area by 12% (about 5304 km2) The cleaved block has a thickness of up to 200 m, an area of about 6000 km2 and a mass of about 1 trillion tons.
According to scientists, the separated block will help accelerate the movement of coastal ice.
1. The highest iceberg | Unknown area
Highest iceberg in the world was recorded and investigated at the beginning of the XX century. He was off the Falkland Islands. The size of the block of ice struck scientists: its height was 450 m. The top of the glacier was at the height of the tallest building in New York.
Unfortunately, due to an insufficiently perfect technique, it has not been fully investigated. When, where and how the glacier melted is unknown. He did not even have time to give his own name and code. Iceberg, recorded in 1904, went down in history as the highest in the world.
Icebergs are not only useful, but also a danger to people, animals and birds. They block the way of animals and contribute to their death. In addition, every year they become the cause of the collapse of many ships. However, they contain more than 90% of the fresh water on the planet.
Recently, the number of breaking icebergs has been increasing. According to scientists, this indicates a warming climate. However, this is not for long - over time, melted icebergs will lead to a decrease in temperature.