An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice that has broken off from a glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open
water.
The word iceberg comes from the Dutch term ijsbes which means “ice hill”.
Glaciers form on land as the result of snow accumulation over thousands of years. Icebergs are created when the
edge of a glacier advances into the ocean and breaks off in pieces.
Icebergs are really white. This color is created by white light reflecting off tiny air bubbles trapped in the ice. There
are also some antiseptic-blue overtones to it and a whole spectrum of green where the iceberg descends into the
ocean.
90% of North Atlantic icebergs (between 10,000 and 15,000) originate from ancient glaciers in Western Greenland.
The biggest part of an iceberg, about seven-eights of it, is below water.
The weight of an iceberg can be up to several million tons.
When iceberg ice melts quickly, the bubbles released from it make a sound like soda water fizzing.
As icebergs travel southwards they experience significant reductions in size and shape. By the time they reach
Newfoundland waters they have lost about 85% of their original mass.
It can take icebergs up to five years to reach the coast of Newfoundland
The interior temperature of an iceberg is between -15 and -20 degrees Celsius.
