The Arctic and Antarctic are natural “enterprises” for the production of unique environmentally clean products- icebergs. Antarctic icebergs are much larger than their Arctic counterparts. These are huge masses of ice, sometimes their area reaches several thousand square kilometers! Some icebergs are comparable in size to the Crimean Peninsula.
Iceberg danger
In the desert waters of Antarctica, icebergs pose no particular danger. If they are of interest to anyone else, besides the captains of ships that rarely approach the White Continent, then perhaps glaciologists. Each large Antarctic iceberg receives a name at “birth” followed by last day surveillance is carried out from aircraft and space satellites. Where a big problem- Arctic icebergs. They drift along the shipping lanes of the North Atlantic. Once upon a time, sailors had to rely only on the vigilance of the lookout.
At the beginning of the 20th century, ship sirens began to be used. Their sound reflected from the surface of tall icebergs, warning of danger. And if you came across a low specimen, then you had to rely solely on luck. After tragic death As a result of the Titanic's collision with a huge block of ice in 1914, the International Ice Patrol was created. 13 countries have agreed to patrol the North Atlantic basin. Until the 1940s, patrols in the region were carried out by ships. Since the end of the Second World War, observations have been carried out mainly from the air. Having discovered an iceberg, the patrol determines its exact location, predicts its drift and then transmits radio reports to nearby ships twice a day.
Iceberg formation
Radars installed on ships also make life easier for sailors. But even these modern means cannot provide a complete guarantee of safety. At first glance, the glaciers appear motionless. In fact, they are very plastic and have a consistency similar to thick honey. Under the pressure of its own weight, the ice cap spreads in different directions from average speed 10-1000 meters per year. When the edges of a glacier extend out to sea, they become unstable and break off. This is how icebergs form.
In large ice masses, you can see from the air the so-called ice rivers, when ice floes create a channel for themselves and “flow” to open ocean water. Having reached the edge of the glacier and breaking off, they form flat and even - table-shaped - icebergs. And glaciologists call ice mountains, distinguished by bizarre shapes of blocks that broke off directly from glaciers. The moment when an iceberg will appear is difficult to predict. In 1986, a piece of glacier unexpectedly broke off in Antarctica, on which the Soviet field expeditionary base “Druzhnaya-1” had recently settled. People were evacuated, and the base's buildings drifted with the iceberg for ten years.
Every year, up to 3.5 thousand cubic kilometers of ice breaks off from Antarctica. The sixth continent supplies more than 90% of the planet's icebergs. Once every 20-25 years, climate fluctuations cause sharp increase the number of formed Antarctic blocks. IN last time this phenomenon was recorded in 1986. So soon we can expect another “ harvest year" Ice blocks drifting at the speed of the ocean current quickly melt, taking on the most fantastic shapes on the surface and under water. And the wind, blowing into the holes and crevices of the iceberg, makes it hum mysteriously.
But the shapes of icebergs are more bizarre, and therefore the repertoire is much richer. Getting close to icebergs is dangerous. Due to melting, the center of gravity between its surface and underwater parts constantly shifts, and the block can turn over in a matter of seconds. IN best case scenario the ship will be hit by a rising wave.
Icebergs capsize more than once during their journey.. But this does not stop thrill-seekers. Iceberg diving has become one of the extreme sports. It’s not just extreme sports enthusiasts who risk approaching these unstable mountains of ice.
The iceberg area is an excellent place for fishing and hunting. Once in warm latitudes, the iceberg begins to melt, and krill - planktonic sea crustaceans - accumulate around it. They are attracted to cool water. Next come krill-eating fish, followed by birds, seals and bears. Hunters and fishermen arrive last.
Ecologically clean water icebergs in the coastal countries of the North Atlantic are used in Food Industry, in particular for the production of exclusive alcoholic beverages. The Canadians were especially successful in this, who began “fishing” for icebergs in 1971, towing the first block of ice to the port. Towing icebergs to dry areas could solve the problem of drinking water, the lack of which affects 2 billion people on Earth. The clean, cool water of icebergs could save dying reefs.
In Russia, the city authorities of Vladivostok are seriously thinking about obtaining fresh water from ice blocks. Nowadays, tourist cruises are increasingly being organized to areas where icebergs drift, but sailors prefer to remain at a respectful distance. Fortunately, in clear weather, the “vagrants of the seas” shining in the sun are visible from afar.
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An iceberg is a majestic natural work of art. Huge ice sculptures up to 100 meters high floating in the sea are a menacing and at the same time fascinating sight. They make you tremble and revere the powerful forces of nature.
Unique works of nature
An iceberg is a natural phenomenon, the splendor and majesty of which can hardly be depicted on photographic film; its incredible icy power can only be felt when meeting in person. What is it? No two icebergs are identical; shapes and sizes are very rarely repeated. The very fact of their appearance and formation is interesting.
The Birth of the Ice Giants
An iceberg is a formation that consists of highly compacted snow that fell on the Greenland ice cap several thousand years ago, if not more. Due to constant change and movement, thousands of icebergs appear every year, mainly forming offshore from glaciers in the central and northwestern region of Greenland, as well as on its eastern coast.
Size matters
An iceberg is a natural phenomenon that can appear in the most various forms, sizes and configurations. The tallest of them rise above the surface of the ocean at a height corresponding to a 15-story building, and the smallest are similar in size to a small hut. Often, entire palaces of icebergs drift gently under the influence of currents in Arctic waters.
This is just the tip of the iceberg
No matter how big an iceberg may seem, this is just its tip; the remaining 7/8 of its mass is at sea depth. Antarctica and Greenland, where all the ice sheets in the world are located, are the main sources of this natural phenomenon in the world. One eighth of the iceberg is visible above the water, the other is located below the surface of the water. This is where the phrase “tip of the iceberg” comes from, meaning only part of an idea or problem.
Why are icebergs blue?
Some glaciers and icebergs have a bluish tint. Chemical bond Oxygen and hydrogen in water absorb light at the red end of the visible light spectrum. Blue glaciers and icebergs are blue for the same reason that the sky is blue, which is due to atmospheric scattering of light.
Large chunks of ice
An iceberg is not just a large piece of ice that breaks off from a glacier. It contains frozen fresh water. Most of them in the Northern Hemisphere break off from glaciers in Greenland. Sometimes they drift south with the current into the North Atlantic. In the Southern Hemisphere, almost all icebergs come from Antarctica.
Some are small, just floating sea ice that extends no more than 5 meters above the ocean. Icebergs can also be huge; they sometimes exceed the size of some islands, for example, such as Sicily - the most big Island in the Mediterranean Sea.
Dangerous Ice
There are many different types icebergs For example, shaggy ice is a collection of floating ice and icebergs no more than 2 meters long. Underwater icebergs are especially dangerous. Sharp hidden ice can easily make a hole in the bottom of a ship. A particularly treacherous part of the North Atlantic became known as Iceberg Alley due to large quantity underwater ice formations. This place is located 250 miles east and southeast of Newfoundland (Canada).
In 1912, the Titanic, a large British ocean liner, collided with an ice mountain on its way to New York and sank in Iceberg Alley. More than 1,500 people died. Shortly after the Titanic sank, the International Ice Patrol was created to monitor icebergs and warn ships. This patrol continues to operate today.
Where do icebergs float?
Iceberg - what is it? How long can it last? Where is he going? Ice masses that become detached from glaciers and drift into warmer waters eventually melt. Scientists estimate the lifespan of an iceberg, from the first snowfall on the glacier to its final melting in the ocean, to be approximately three thousand years. For obvious reasons, accurately determining the time of existence of a particular iceberg is very difficult. The movement of the largest floating ice formations is monitored using satellites.
Shapes and sizes
Smaller icebergs may originate from glaciers or ice shelves, or may be the result of a large iceberg rupturing. They are also completely different in shape. Some icebergs have steep sides and a flat top, others have domes and spiers.
Iceberg - what is it?
The word "iceberg" comes from Dutch and literally means ice mountain. As is known, about 91% of the entire floating ice mass is under water. It's connected with physical characteristics. Since the density pure ice is about 920 kg/m 3, and sea water- about 1025 kg/m 3, usually one tenth of the iceberg's volume above water (according to Archimedes' principle). It is very difficult to determine the shape of the underwater part solely by looking at the part above the surface.
Icebergs typically range from 1 to 75 meters above sea level and weigh between 100,000 and 200,000 metric tons. The largest known iceberg in the North Atlantic stood 168 meters above sea level. This is the approximate height of a 55-story building. Such icebergs originate from the glaciers of West Greenland and can have an internal temperature of -15 to -20 °C.
Iceberg Tracking
Icebergs are usually limited by winds and currents. More than 95% of data used in analyzes sea ice, are obtained from remote sensors on polar-orbiting satellites that explore these remote areas of the Earth. Until the early 1910s, there was no system for tracking icebergs to protect ships from collisions, most likely because they were not considered a serious threat then, ships managed to survive even direct collisions.
In 1907, the German liner Kronprinz Wilhelm rammed an iceberg and was very seriously damaged, but was able to complete its journey. However, the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912 changed all this and created demand for systems to monitor icebergs. This is how the International Ice Patrol was formed.
New technologies control icebergs. Aerial surveillance of the seas in the early 1930s allowed the development of charter systems that could accurately detail ocean currents. In 1945, experiments tested the effectiveness of radar in detecting icebergs. Ten years later, oceanographic monitoring sites were established to collect data, and these outposts continue to serve environmental research.
Our Earth is called the blue planet. And not by chance. After all, 70% earth's surface is made up of water. Water exists not only in liquid, but also in solid state (at negative temperatures). Solid water is ice, glaciers that make up the Earth's ice shell. Glaciers are perennial masses of ice formed by the accumulation and transformation of snow, which move under the influence of gravity and take the form of streams, convex sheets or floating slabs (ice shelves). Polar glaciers almost always reach the oceans and seas and actively interact with them, which is why they are called “marine”. Glaciers can invade cold, shallow seas, moving onto the continental shelf. The ice sinks into the water, which leads to the formation of ice shelves - floating slabs consisting of firn (compressed porous snow) and ice. Icebergs periodically break off from them. At contact with the sea, the movement of ice streams accelerates, their ends float up, forming floating tongues, which also become a source huge amount icebergs
“Ice” in German means ice, “berg” means mountain. Icebergs are large fragments of glaciers that descend from land to the sea. They are carried far away by sea currents. And it’s amazing - sometimes the ice mountains seem to float against the current. This happens because only an eighth or ninth of the entire iceberg rises above the surface of the water, the rest is immersed deep in the water, where the current is sometimes opposite to that on the surface.
Translated into Russian, the word “iceberg” means “ice mountain”. These are truly floating mountains of ice, born from glaciers sliding into the sea. The end of the glacier hangs over the sea for some time. It is undermined by tides, sea currents, and winds. Finally it breaks off and falls into the water with a crash. Every year, ice streams form tens of cubic kilometers of ice per year. All Greenland glaciers annually throw out more than 300 km3 of ice into the ocean, ice streams and ice shelves in Antarctica - at least 2 thousand km3.
Greenland icebergs- often real ice mountains of a dome-shaped or pyramidal shape. They can rise above the water by 70 - 100 m, which is no more than 20-30% of their volume, the remaining 70-80% is hidden under water. With the East Greenland and Labrador Currents, iceberg masses are carried up to 40-500 north latitude, in some cases even further south.
Encountering icebergs in the ocean is dangerous. After all, its underwater part is not visible. In 1912, the large passenger steamer Titanic sailed from America to Europe, collided with an iceberg in the fog and sank. But it happened that in Antarctic waters icebergs served the Yuri Dolgoruky whaling flotilla well. Severe storms prevented sailors from reloading finished products onto the refrigerator and take fuel from the tanker. And then the sailors saw two icebergs nearby. There were high waves all around, and between them there was only a slight swell. The sailors risked standing between the icebergs and, under their protection, performing the necessary overload. It seems that this is the only case when icebergs helped sailors. But icebergs are not only a majestic natural phenomenon. They can serve as a source of fresh water, which people are increasingly lacking. Projects are already being developed to “catch” and tow icebergs into arid areas, such as Saudi Arabia, South West Africa.
Any creation of nature is unique and inimitable. Ice mountains in the ocean are an unforgettably beautiful and majestic picture. They have the most bizarre shapes and are amazingly colored. They look like giant crystals precious stones: bright green, dark blue, turquoise color. This is how the sun's rays are refracted in perfectly clean polar ice floes saturated with air bubbles. Because of these bubbles, which are much lighter than water, icebergs are immersed in water only five-sixths of their volume.
The true size of icebergs far exceeds imagination. In the Arctic, these mountains of ice rise above sea level by an average of 70 m, sometimes reaching a height of 190 m, and the length of some of them reaches several kilometers. The drifting station “North Pole - 6” and the first American Arctic stations in the Arctic Ocean operated on such ice islands. The flat-topped masses of Antarctic icebergs have an average surface height of 100 m, and some of them rise above the water by 500 m and have a length of 100 km or more.
Sea currents and winds pick up icebergs and carry them from the polar seas to the ocean. In the Southern Hemisphere, large Antarctic icebergs penetrate particularly far into the Atlantic Ocean, here they reach 260 south latitude, i.e. up to the latitude of Rio de Janeiro, in the Pacific and Indian oceans, icebergs do not float north of 50-400 south latitude.
In the Northern Hemisphere, especially many Arctic icebergs are carried by the East Greenland and Labrador currents into the Atlantic Ocean, where they reach the latitude of England. And here, on the routes of busy transatlantic shipping, they pose a serious threat to ships. But modern ships are equipped with sophisticated instruments that warn at a great distance of the approach of any obstacle, including icebergs.
With the help of icebergs, as we have already said, it would be possible to solve the problems of supplying dry areas of the Earth with fresh water. The famous American oceanographer and engineer John Isaacs came up with a tempting idea - to tow a large iceberg to the shores of water-stricken California, and use the water generated when the iceberg melts to irrigate dry lands. It can be assumed that the colossal mass of ice, which will melt very slowly even in the hot Californian climate, can cause increased condensation of atmospheric moisture and additional precipitation. This will lead to an increase in water reserves in the reservoir and a slight decrease in the dry climate on the coastline adjacent to the iceberg. This could be used in other arid areas of the world, most notably in Australia.
The largest icebergs are born from the giant glaciers of Antarctica. From time to time, deep cracks form in the glacier, and it splits into separate blocks. The birth of an iceberg is a spectacular sight. A huge mass of ice falls into the water with a roar reminiscent of a monstrous explosion. Once in the water, the iceberg sets off to swim. Currents sooner or later carry it to warmer latitudes, where it is washed by warm waters and it slowly melts under the rays of the sun. But especially large icebergs manage to move far to the south if they are Arctic icebergs, or far to the north if they are Antarctic. In just one year, about 26 thousand icebergs break off from the Arctic ice cover. The largest iceberg was recorded in the Ross Sea in October 1987. It broke off from the ice shell of Antarctica. The area of the giant is 153 by 36 km.
During the year, approximately 370 icebergs pose a threat to navigation. Therefore, in the open ocean, they are constantly monitored by a special service. Icebergs can reach a height of 100m above the sea surface, but most of them are under water. An ice mountain floating in warm waters is usually shrouded in dense fog - this is water vapor from warmer air condensing over its cold surface. In 1912 in thick fog The Titanic, a large passenger ship, collided with an iceberg while crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The ship on which two thousand two hundred passengers were sailing to America sank. One and a half thousand people died. Many years later, in 1959, the Danish ship Hedtof suffered the same fate. It also sank in the North Atlantic. An iceberg is a kind of fresh water reservoir.
Even a relatively small ice mountain, 150 m thick, 2 km long and half a kilometer wide, contains almost 150 million tons of fresh water, and very High Quality. This amount of water would be enough for a whole month for such a gigantic city as Moscow, with a population of millions. In the USA, projects are being developed to transport icebergs to the multimillion-dollar city of Los Angeles and port cities. South America, Africa, Australia. Of course, there are many difficulties. We need very powerful tugboats, we need to learn how to securely secure the iceberg with cables, and when delivering it to the port, make sure that it does not melt too quickly. It is important to lay out the most favorable path for the iceberg in the ocean in order to take advantage of favorable currents and winds.
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