This week we will be looking at some icebergs as promised in my Penguin Parade post. Apart from the wildlife, they were one of the things I was really looking forward to seeing. Seeing the first iceberg looming up out of the mist as we approached the South Shetland Islands made it feel as though we had finally arrived in the Antarctic. Icebergs are large chunks of freshwater ice that have broken from the ice shelf or calved from glaciers, both of which are created from compressed snow flowing down from mountains on the Antarctic continent or islands. Being freshwater with a density of approximately 920kg/m³ compared to seawater at about 1025kg/m³, the ice floats with approximately one tenth of it’s volume visible above the surface. Some appear so massive that it is hard to imagine another 90% beneath the surface. I find them fascinating with their range in size, shapes, textures and the amazing colours that seem to glow from within.
Icebergs
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