Iceberg B-15 was discovered by scientists back in 2000 to this day
is the largest iceberg in the world; there has never been a larger one in history. Its dimensions
300 x 42 kilometers (which is approx. Kaliningrad region or Jamaica), which covers an area of 14,500 square kilometers. In 2000, iceberg B-15 broke off from Antarctica. The iceberg broke off in the Ross Sea area, the Americans were the first to discover the iceberg, at that time the Russians were calm about the iceberg, because our ships were not in that area. In the Ross Sea, many icebergs were then parked, and our hero also ended up there.
3 years later in 2003, the iceberg split into 2 parts, and by now these two parts have split into great amount pieces.
Currently the largest iceberg is C19A
Iceberg B-15 has completely broken up by now, and little remains of it, but a new iceberg has appeared, which was assigned the serial number C19A. It is much smaller than the B-15, only 5 thousand 659 square kilometers, but it is twice the size of Luxembourg, and it also located in the western waters of the Ross Sea.
Iceberg C19A is now being monitored by scientists and has many sensors installed to determine its location and its condition. Scientists are keeping an eye on it because when the B-15 broke off it caused the death of millions of emperor penguins, they were blocked from the open sea by an iceberg and 75 percent of the population of this species of penguin died.
According to scientists, 17 large icebergs have broken off from Antarctica over 26 years, which, of course, will continue to break off and break off.
- Scientists discovered the largest iceberg near the Falkland Islands, its height was 450 meters in height; for comparison, the Eiffel Tower in France is only 324 meters; the largest iceberg was discovered back in 1904.
- In the northern hemisphere, the largest iceberg was recorded at 168 meters high.
Sailors say that large icebergs pose no danger to them because they can be easily seen from afar, but fragments are difficult to see and can cause fatal damage to the ship.
How are icebergs formed?
Translated from German language The word iceberg means "ice mountain". Indeed, icebergs are majestic floating ice mountains, "reservoirs" fresh water, whose “production factories” are the Arctic and Antarctic. The formation of icebergs occurs as a result of the breaking off of multi-ton pieces of ice from the sliding continental glaciers of Greenland, the islands of the Canadian archipelago and Spitsbergen in the Arctic, and from the ice sheet covering Antarctica.
It is accompanied by a strong roar, similar to artillery shelling, causing witnesses to this spectacle to tremble in horror. The surface of the ocean begins to move, and God forbid that any boat happens to be nearby at this time - at best, the force of the wave will throw it far away!
Iceberg Shape
The birthplace of icebergs determines their shape: icebergs southern hemisphere, the so-called table icebergs, have a flat surface, while the northern ones have an irregular, intricately indented surface. The size of some floating giants sometimes reaches several thousand square kilometers.
Back in the middle of the 19th century, scientists had the opportunity to observe for 10 years the movement of a giant iceberg 120 km long and 90 m high. In 1927, Norwegian whalers encountered an ice island whose length was 170 km. And in November 1956, the largest iceberg ever described was spotted in Antarctic waters, 375 km long and more than 100 km wide. In area (more than 37 thousand km2) it was slightly smaller than Moldova.
11 thousand square kilometers
The movement of the iceberg depends not on the winds, but on sea currents, since almost all of it is under water, and only 1/10 of it protrudes above the surface. Therefore, icebergs often drift against the wind, and even, like giant icebreakers, through ice fields two meters thick. Since the main part of the iceberg, which can be up to 500 m thick, is invisible, and the tip is almost always shrouded in fog due to melting ice, icebergs pose a serious danger to shipping. After the tragedy that happened with the Titanic, the icebergs are being carefully monitored.
The largest iceberg in the history of glaciers and icebergs, called B15, broke off from the Antarctic ice shelf in 2000. Its area was approximately 11 thousand km 2. For two and a half years, this ice giant, the size of Jamaica, was locked in the Ross Sea, a “parking lot” for icebergs, and in 2003 it split into two pieces. They, too, in turn, split into pieces over the years. And now the largest iceberg is considered to be C19A with an area of 5.5 thousand km 2, which is “parked” in the western waters of the Ross Sea.
In 2010, near the Greenland coast, employees of the Canadian Ice Observation Service discovered the largest iceberg in the northern hemisphere in the last half century - the size of a third of Kyiv. Among the thousands of icebergs that break off from the Greenland glaciers, such giants are a very rare occurrence. If this huge ice floe with an area of 260 km 2 were to move south of Greenland, it would seriously hinder shipping in the Atlantic.
Iceberg 450 meters high
The tallest iceberg was seen near the Falkland Islands (South Atlantic) in 1904. Its peak was located at an altitude of 450 m (for comparison: the height Eiffel Tower with antenna – 324 meters)! And in the northern hemisphere, the tallest iceberg was recorded with a height of 168 m.
Despite all precautions, even today ships cannot always avoid crashes after encountering these floating ice mountains.
Recently, experts involved in the study of global warming came to a disappointing conclusion: the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica, the largest floating piece of ice in the world, is melting not only from below, as previously thought, but also from above. This means that it will crack much faster than expected. This, in turn, will lead to a sharp rise in global sea levels.
"Boy" misbehaved
For two weeks in January 2016, very warm weather resulted in partial melting of a 300,000 square mile area of the Ross Shelf. Scientists have recorded such a significant melting of ice in Antarctica for the first time, and although this time the water that melted from above in the “plate” of ice froze again, the very fact of this process does not paint a very rosy future for Antarctica and the entire Earth.
The reason for the warm weather was the El Niño phenomenon (translated from Spanish as “the boy”). This is the name for fluctuations in the temperature of the surface layer of water in the equatorial part of the Pacific Ocean, which significantly affects the climate. As the surface of the Pacific Ocean warms around the equator, currents carry warm waters to Canada, USA and Antarctica. This time El Niño got a little lost and brought warmth to West Antarctica, which is unusual for it.
What's next
Scientists suspect that the more our planet warms, the more often El Niño will be carried into the wrong places, and, accordingly, the Ross Shelf will flood faster. But it is ice shelves that keep Antarctic ice from calving and melting, raising sea levels. If the Ross Shelf breaks in two, ice will be released into the water much faster.
In the photo: melting glaciers Climate researchers at Ohio University estimate that if the Ross Shelf, a major outpost in the path of melting glaciers, collapses, sea levels will rise by 11 feet (3.35 meters). This would result in nearly 30,000 square miles of flooding in the United States alone.
November 12, 1956 at Pacific Ocean The largest iceberg in history was discovered. Its length was 335 km. Ice cliffs have always aroused the interest of researchers, travelers and ordinary people. We will tell you about the five most famous icebergs in history.
Iceberg "Titanic"
This unremarkable iceberg became famous thanks to the great ship it sank. The giant British ship, which its creators claimed was distinguished by its increased strength, sank after colliding with a block of ice on April 14, 1912, resulting in the death of 1,495 people.
It is known that the iceberg broke off from a glacier in Melville Bay in Greenland on June 24, 1910 at 12:45 p.m. The wandering mountain had a height of 105 m and a weight of 420 thousand tons. While sailing across the Atlantic, the iceberg greatly decreased in size, but was still massive enough to ram and sink a 66 thousand-ton liner.
After the collision with the ship, the mountain was picked up warm current and six months later brought Franz Josef to Land. Here a half-melted, loose iceberg ran aground and, after overwintering until the summer of 1913, melted.
Fletcher Island
Fletcher Ice Island (or T-3) is an iceberg discovered by explorer Joseph Fletcher in the late 1940s. This is one of the most famous drifting islands. It broke off from the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf. The area of the island was 90 square meters. km, the ice thickness is up to 50 m. From 1952 to 1978, drifting scientific stations were repeatedly located on it. In the early 1980s, the iceberg was believed to have been carried out into the North Atlantic and melted.
B-15 largest iceberg
The largest iceberg in the history of scientific observations (documented and studied by scientists), an iceberg called B-15, broke off from the Antarctic ice shelf in 2000. Its area was approximately 11 thousand square meters. km. For two and a half years, this ice giant the size of Jamaica was locked in the Ross Sea, and in 2003 it split into two pieces. They, too, in turn, split into pieces over the years. The iceberg discovered in 1956 was larger, it had an area of 31 thousand square meters. km, however, has not been studied by scientists, unlike the B-15.
Record holder of the Northern Hemisphere
In 2010, near the Greenland coast, employees of the Canadian Ice Observation Service discovered the largest iceberg in the Northern Hemisphere in the last half century - the size of a third of Kyiv (260 sq. km.). Among the thousands of icebergs that break off from the Greenland glaciers, such giants are a very rare sight. If this huge ice floe were to move south of Greenland, it would seriously hinder shipping in the Atlantic.
In November 1956, the largest iceberg in history was discovered in the Pacific Ocean. Its length was 335 km. Ice cliffs have always aroused the interest of researchers, travelers and ordinary people. We will tell you about the five most famous icebergs in history.
ICEBERG TITANIC
This unremarkable iceberg became famous thanks to the great ship it sank. The giant British ship, which its creators claimed was highly durable, sank after colliding with a block of ice on April 14, 1912, resulting in the death of 1,495 people.
It is known that the iceberg broke away from the glacier in Melville Bay, Greenland, on June 24, 1910, at 12:45 p.m. The wandering mountain had a height of 105 meters and a weight of 420 thousand tons. During its voyage across the Atlantic, the iceberg was greatly reduced in size, but was still massive enough to ram and sink a 66,000-ton liner.
After the collision with the ship, the mountain was picked up by a warm current and six months later brought Franz Joseph to Earth. Here, a half-melted, loose iceberg ran aground and, after overwintering until the summer of 1913, melted.
This iceberg could have destroyed the Titanic. Traces of red paint left from the ship's hull were found on it Photo: Wikipedia
Photo: Global Look
FLETCHER ISLAND
Fletcher Ice Island (or T-3) is an iceberg discovered by explorer Joseph Fletcher in the late 1940s. This is one of the most famous drifting islands. It broke off from the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf. The area of the island was 90 square meters. km, ice thickness is up to 50 meters. From 1952 to 1978, drifting scientific stations were repeatedly located on it. In the early 1980s, the iceberg was believed to have been carried out into the North Atlantic and melted.
Photo: qsl. net
Photo: Global Look
B15 – THE BIGGEST ICEBERG
The largest iceberg in the history of scientific observations (documented and studied by scientists), an iceberg called B15, broke off from the Antarctic ice shelf in 2000. Its area was approximately 11 thousand square meters. km. For two and a half years, this ice giant, the size of Jamaica, was locked in the Ross Sea, and in 2003 it split into two pieces. They, too, in turn, split into pieces over the years. The iceberg discovered in 1956 was larger, it had an area of 31 thousand square meters. km, but it has not been studied by scientists, unlike B15.
B-15 Photo: Wikimedia
Photo: Global Look
RECORD HOLDER OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE
In 2010, near the Greenland coast, employees of the Canadian Ice Observation Service discovered the largest iceberg in the northern hemisphere in the last half century - the size of a third of Kyiv (260 sq. km.). Among the thousands of icebergs that break off from the Greenland glaciers, such giants are a very rare occurrence. If this huge ice floe were to move south of Greenland, it would seriously hinder shipping in the Atlantic.
Photo: Wikimedia
Photo: Global Look
HIGHEST
The tallest iceberg was seen in the South Atlantic near the Falkland Islands in 1904. Its peak was located at an altitude of 450 m. Approximately the same height as the famous Empire State Building in New York.
A huge iceberg capsized in front of tourists
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