Ro
Maritime government
10-23-2018 06:30:00
A scientist with NASA’s Operation IceBridge exploration program recently saw a rectangular iceberg floating off the Larsen C ice shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula. The shape appears to indicate that it recently calved, according to NASA, and the ocean has yet to have much time to clear its corners. The picture quickly flew on social media.
“I thought it was very interesting; I often see an iceberg with very straight edges, but I’ve never seen one with two corners at right angles like this one, ”said suport chief scientist Jeremy Harbeck, who took a photo of the cherries. “I was more interested in capturing the A68 iceberg we were about to cross, but I thought this rectangular iceberg was visually interesting and very photogenic, and so on a lark, I took a picture or two. “A68 is the awful, Delaware-sized ice sheet that broke off Larsen C in July 2017.
The Harbeck find is an unusual square example of a tabular iceberg, according to NASA. Tabular icebergs come from ice shelves, which are broad, flat and regular in shape, and often produce berries in geometric shapes.
Slightly smaller tabular iceberg, with the vast expanse of the A68 visible in the distance (NASA / Jeremy Harbeck)