Water, in its frozen state, always attracts our attention. Whether it's a small icicle in the yard, a snowflake falling from heaven or a huge iceberg plowing the expanses of the ocean.
Icebergs, as unique and amazing objects of nature, are the subject of research in many sciences. They hide most of them from us under water.
The first to see the ice of Antarctica was the English navigator James Cook. But, having made a mistake in the logbook, he did not become the discoverer of this mainland. Later, after navigating their ships between the icebergs, Russian explorers Lazarev and Bellingshausen became the discoverers of Antarctica.
And today we look at the largest icebergs in history.
Joseph Fletcher Iceberg (T-3)
This large iceberg is named after its researcher Joseph Fletcher. Due to the length of its existence, this block of ice was named - “Fletcher's Floating Ice Island”.
Discovered and explored it in the late 40s of the last century. By measuring the iceberg, scientists found that its area is about 90 km², and the thickness of the ice is up to 50 meters.
In the 1950s and 1970s, research stations were operating on the iceberg, which greatly enriched human knowledge about these floating ice. In the early 1980s, having fallen into one of the ocean currents, the T-3 was carried to the North Atlantic and melted.
Largest in the Northern Hemisphere
This is a fairly rare occurrence when large icebergs break off from the shores of Greenland. This happened in 2010, when a huge block of ice broke off from the glaciers surrounding the island of Greenland. Its area was 260 km².
Under the influence of the Gulf Stream, the iceberg melted. Moving south, this iceberg could become a threat to ships in the North Atlantic.
Iceberg Titanic
Let not the largest, but perhaps the most famous iceberg in the history of Mankind.
The iceberg was 105 meters high and weighs approximately 420 thousand tons. Before the collision with the Titanic, an iceberg that broke away from glaciers in the Melville Bay of Greenland, drifted in the North Atlantic for two years.
On April 14, 1912, the iceberg collided with the largest ship of the time, the Titanic. Within hours, the ship sank, killing 1,495 human lives.
The iceberg was later inspected and traces of paint on the ship were found on its ice surface. In 1913, after aground on the Franz Josef Land Island, the iceberg melted.
Highest iceberg
At the beginning of the 20th century, the highest iceberg in history was discovered and explored near the Falkland Islands in the southern Atlantic. Its height was 450 meters. With its grandeur and size, he amazed the researchers. For comparison, the tip of this iceberg was located at the height of the spire of the tallest building in New York.
Due to the imperfection of the scientific equipment of the time, the iceberg was not thoroughly investigated. Where and how he ended his drift in the ocean is not known. He did not even have time to assign a code and proper name. So he went down in history as the highest iceberg discovered in 1904.
Iceberg Santa Maria
In 1956, a large iceberg was discovered in the Atlantic Ocean, breaking away from the coast of Antarctica.
The size of this iceberg, called "Santa Maria", was 97 × 335 km. It was investigated by the American vessel “U.S.S. Glacier. " But unfortunately, having measured its size and approximate weight, the iceberg was not studied in detail. Having made a circle around Antarctica, it split and melted.
Iceberg B15
This block of ice the size of the island of Jamaica broke away from Antarctica in 2000. Its area was 11 thousand km². Having drifted quite a bit in open water, the iceberg was sandwiched in the Ross Sea.
An ice giant weighing more than 3 trillion tons had a negative impact on the ecology of this part of the Atlantic. First of all, the vessels could not get to the research stations to supply the expeditions. Secondly, the Adelie penguin population has declined. Adult individuals because of the iceberg could not get to their chicks in time.
In 2003, under the influence of external forces, it split into two huge pieces. They, in turn, began to split even into smaller pieces. In 2005, small fragments of B15 were spotted off the coast of New Zealand.
Iceberg C19A
Near Antarctica, in the western part of the Ross Sea, there is a place where currents bring many icebergs. The largest iceberg for today, which received the C19A code, is also stuck here.
The area of this ice giant is 5 500 km². Due to the fact that it is sandwiched by other, smaller blocks of ice, it is difficult to approach it in order to explore more thoroughly. But he managed to install measuring and navigation equipment. So, as soon as the iceberg begins its movement, it will be possible to trace the direction of its movements in the waters of the ocean.
This part of the world's oceans is truly unique. Here, huge icebergs for a long time can be stationary and not melt. Over the past five years, 17 large icebergs have broken away from Antarctica, which indicates the process of climate warming.
💡 Do you know the difference between the Arctic and the Antarctic? If not, there is a very interesting article on thebiggest for you.
Larsen S
Photo of the Larsen C Glacier in Antarctica before it even split at the site of this crack
The amazing news on July 12, 2017 was the formation of the new largest iceberg in the history of observations. Scientists have long known that this day was about to happen.
It turned out that the largest ice shelf of Antarctica called “Larsen S” was slowly breaking up, this process began at least in 1990. In 1995, one fragment broke away from a large glacier, its name Larsen A. Larsen B broke away from the glacier in 2002. The next (and largest) piece broke off after 15 years.
This iceberg gradually split into smaller ones and melted, but after its appearance, its weight was more than a trillion tons, and its surface area was 5,800 km². For comparison, the total area of Moscow is 2,511 km².
Finally
As you can see, icebergs are truly unique natural phenomena. For example, scientists estimated that when the B-15 melted, its volume could feed the Nile for 80 years. Did you know that the Nile is on the list of the longest rivers on the planet?
Icebergs are dangerous not only for humans, but also for animals. By blocking the migration routes of animals and birds, they lead to their death and population decline. But at the same time, 90% of the fresh water on Earth is concentrated in the ice.
Scientists at oceanologists and ecologists agree that the latest increase in the number of breakaway ice blocks indicates a warming climate. But this process is temporary, melted icebergs lead to a decrease in the temperature of warm currents, which ultimately leads to cooling and the onset of a new glacier in the north of the planet. Although there are other opinions. We strongly recommend that you look at our article on thebiggest.ru about the likely consequences of global warming that we are about to face.
Article author: Valery Skiba