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When an iceberg breaks off from a glacier or an ice shelf, the process is called calving, and in a moment we’re going to hear the actual sound of calving – the sound of an iceberg being born. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.
Ambience, calving
“In the Antarctic, I don’t think there’s any seasonality that’s known to iceberg calving. Unlike the Arctic, where there’s a very distinct seasonality, at least in the outflow of icebergs from the Greenland area which is very heavily concentrated in the March through July period. In the Antarctic, the calving appears to occur year round.”
Stanley Jacobs is a senior staff associate at the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory.
“Icebergs that break off the Antarctic ice sheet tend to drift, initially, on the Antarctic continental shelf, which is a relatively shallow area near the Antarctic continent. “
“The lifetimes of Antarctic icebergs are extremely variable, and there have been estimates that the average lifetime may be on the order of two to six years.”
Ambience, calving
“It’s not known what triggers a particular calving event. It could be an atmospheric storm or meteorologic phenomena. It could be an oceanographic event such as a tsunami, for example.”
A tsunami, by the way, is a tidal wave. We’ll hear more about icebergs in our next program. Pulse of the Planet is presented by DuPont, makers of better things for better living.
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