Antarctica’s Spellbinding Stripy Icebergs

Fri, Aug 29, 2008

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Antarctica is the coldest and most barren continent on the face of the Earth, with spine chilling temperatures as low as -130°F (-90°C) in the winter. There is next to no vegetation, no permanent population and not a hotel in sight yet people still flock to the area in their droves to get a glimpse of the abundant wildlife and marine life, and these floating beauties: icebergs.

Stripy Icebergs
davewalsh

Only about one-tenth of an iceberg is visible above water making them dangerous to manoeuvre around, as the ill-fated Titanic discovered, and the largest ever recorded towered a whopping 551ft above sea level, roughly the height of a 55-storey building. They’re also capable of travelling an astounding 17 kms (11 miles) a day.

Dark stripes
flygirljc777

The green stripes through these icebergs are caused by algae caught in the ice. Brown, yellow and black stripes are the result of sediments being picked up when the ice sheet works its way to the sea.

Source: Crooked Brains

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antarctica, antarctica marine life, antarctica wildlife, continents, glacier, global warming, ice shelf, icebergs, largest iceberg, titanic

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This post was written by:

Linda McCormick - who has written 175 posts on Environmental Graffiti.

Linda is a writer and editor, currently based in London. Growing up in N Ireland, she craved sunnier climes so set off around the world, forever chasing the sun. On her travels she discovered she was much more passionate about the environment than she realised – although never quite got the whole tree-hugging thing – and has always had a penchant for the unconventional and creative side of life, so working at Environmental Graffiti suits her just fine.

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Steve N. Lee Says:
September 3rd, 2008 at 7:24 am
These are wonderful images.

I’ve always fancied a trip to Patagonia because it looks to have such incredible scenery it’s almost other-worldly. And while I was down that way, I’d pop over to Antarctica for much the same reason. Well, these photos say it all, don’t they?

Plus, of course, there’s the animal life and the possibility of seeing part of an ice cliff collapse into the sea – must be one of the most spectacular things on earth. Then there’s scuba diving through ice canyons… Wow, I’d book a flight now if I could! Okay, maybe not – I don’t fancy those temperatures!

Thanks for a stunning set of photos. Let’s hope we get our acts together enough to pass legislation to protect this wonderful place.
Steve N. Lee
author of eco-blog http://www.lionsledbysheep.com
and suspense thriller ‘What if…?’
Mary Burke Says:
January 9th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Where exactly in Antarctica were these striped icebergs photographed?? I have just been to Antarctica and saw some pretty remarkable icebergs, but not these striped mammoths?

Mary Burke
Robootto Says:
February 25th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Wonderful images! that looks so cool :)

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