And Then There was ICE!

Known as the White Continent, icebergs present the first tangible sign that we've arrived. They take on various forms depending on where they originated and their life history. Flat topped, tabular bergs are typically from shelves. More irregular, castellated bergs are the product of active glacier fronts where calving is both frequent and dramatic.








In the course of an iceberg's drift, it will melt, often to the point where it becomes top-heavy, unstable, then rolls exposing its underside, which will have the appearance of cut glass.




As the berg disintegrates and its size diminishes the ice takes on a new name. Masses of ice the size of a small house are known as bergy bits while those the size of a car are known as growlers. As growlers disintegrate they yield a myriad of much smaller pieces call brash ice.

Many factors influence how much of the berg is beneath the water, however it is usually somewhere between 70% to 90%.

One of the most striking aspects of bergs is the intense blue color they often have. Only when the ice crystals are perfectly formed and free of bubbles will icebergs take on this blue coloration and that is most often the case with old ice from deep within a glacier.

(Info presented here was excerpted from material shared by the Expedition Team on board Minerva.)