Over 100 Icebergs Drifting to New Zealand

Courtesy of Kristen DelRosario:

Warning all shippers of the sea, hundreds of icebergs are flowing from the Antarctic towards New Zealand. The last time icebergs neared New Zealand was in 2006. Icebergs pose a danger to ships traveling the North Atlantic and the waters around Antarctica because they are hard to spot. Icebergs travel with ocean currents, sometimes smashing up against the shore or getting caught in shallow waters. Icebergs come in all shapes and sizes, from ice-cube-sized chunks to ice islands the size of a small country. They are large floating chunks of ice. In order to float, the iceberg displaces a volume of water that has a weight equal to that of the iceberg.

Some of the icebergs that were seen traveling from the Antarctic towards New Zealand are ranging 650 feet across. These icebergs were once part of a larger iceberg that was roughly 11.6 square miles. Scientist Neal Young said they were the remains of a massive ice flow which split from the Antarctic as sea and air temperatures rise due to global warming.

In the article it is stated that this is a rare event. Could this become a more frequent event if air temperatures continue to rise because of global warming? Only time will tell. We could make a hypothesis that this event would become more frequent if we contribute more to greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, we could have millions of icebergs floating all over the ocean until they completely melt from increased air and ocean temperatures. If global warming reaches extreme heights, it will reduce the amount of icebergs in the world because glaciers will melt before they can break off and create new icebergs. What actions we take now and in the future will determine if we see this rare event more often. We were the ones who contributed to this event and we could help prevent it from reoccurring numerous of times.

Not only do icebergs create hazards for shippers, they also harm the shallow habitats of species such as giant sea spiders, Antarctic worms, sea urchins and corals. These species are facing a growing risk from icebergs. The near-shore ecosystems have always been pounded by icebergs, crushing the animals and plants that live there. The rate of destruction is increasing as warmer climate shrinks the winter sea ice that would otherwise lock the bergs in.

Overall, this article’s message is to address that global warming is effecting our environment that we live in. In addition, this article is warning shippers that they will need to be more careful when traveling because if they hit one of the icebergs they might end up like Titanic.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091123/ts_afp/australianzealandantarcticaclimateiceberg