The Ice Of Antarctica

Warming%20has%20been%20particularly%20strong%20on%20the%20Antarctic%20Peninsula.%20One%20study%20suggests%20that%20the%20warming%20is%20a%20consequence%20of%20carbon%20dioxide%20emissions%20from%20people.%20The%20effect%20on%20glaciers%2C%20in%20Antarctica%20and%20around%20the%20world%2C%20has%20been%20pronounced.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

Stromness%2C%20a%20former%20whaling%20station%20on%20South%20Georgia%20island%2C%20was%20founded%20in%201912.%20This%20is%20where%20Antarctic%20explorer%20Ernest%20Shackleton%20finally%20made%20contact%20%20with%20the%20outside%20world%20in%201916%20after%20being%20lost%20in%20and%20around%20Antarctica%20for%2016%20months.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

Elephant%20Island%2C%20part%20of%20the%20South%20Shetland%20Islands%20near%20Antarctica%2C%20is%20covered%20with%20mountains%20and%20ice.%20Early%20explorers%20named%20it%20after%20seeing%20elephant%20seals%20on%20its%20shore.%20Famous%20explorer%20Ernest%20Shackleton%20and%20his%20crew%20were%20marooned%20here%20in%201916%20after%20loosing%20their%20ship%20in%20a%20crush%20of%20ice.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

Paradise%20Bay%20and%20Orne%20Harbor%20are%20located%20in%20West%20Antarctica.%20Argentina%20and%20Chile%20both%20have%20scientific%20bases%20on%20the%20shore.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

The%20Europa%2C%20an%20early%2020th%20century%20sailing%20vessel%2C%20explores%20an%20Antarctic%20glacier.%20The%20Europa%20sails%20to%20Antarctica%20from%20southern%20points%20in%20South%20America.%20This%20boat%20is%20183%20feet%20long%20with%20a%20beam%20of%2024%20feet.%20The%20glacial%20ice%20behind%20it%2C%20like%20all%20glacial%20ice%2C%20is%20formed%20from%20centuries%20of%20snowfall.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

This%20enormous%20glacier%20%28notice%20the%20people%20in%20the%20boat%29%20sits%20along%20the%20Antarctic%20Peninsula.%20Glaciers%20grow%20when%20more%20snow%20falls%20in%20the%20winter%20than%20melts%20in%20the%20summer.%20A%20glacier%20can%20be%20thousands%20of%20feet%20thick%20and%20hundreds%20of%20miles%20long.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

This%20glacier%20is%20in%20Drygalski%20Fjord%20on%20South%20Georgia%20Island%26%238217%3Bs%20southeast%20coast.%20Glaciers%20move%20downhill%20at%20a%20very%20slow%20rate%2C%20reaching%20the%20water%20and%20extending%20over%20it.%20Eventually%20a%20piece%20will%20break%20off%20under%20its%20own%20weight%2C%20forming%20an%20iceberg.%20Global%20warming%2C%20which%20has%20impacted%20many%20Antarctic%20glaciers%2C%20has%20reduced%20this%20glacier%26%238217%3Bs%20size%20significantly.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

This%20iceberg%20sits%20between%20the%20Antarctic%20Peninsula%20and%20South%20Georgia%20Island.%20Icebergs%20spend%20thousands%20of%20years%20as%20part%20of%20a%20glacier.%20Once%20it%20calves%20%28breaks%20off%29%2C%20the%20iceberg%20will%20live%20for%203%20%26%238211%3B%206%20years.%20Icebergs%20that%20float%20into%20warmer%20water%20may%20not%20last%20that%20long%2C%20though%20the%20occasional%20iceberg%20can%20survive%20for%2050%20years%20or%20more.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

Icebergs%2C%20which%20come%20from%20glaciers%2C%20are%20made%20up%20of%20freshwater.%20Icebergs%20tend%20to%20travel%20with%20the%20current%2C%20often%20getting%20stuck%20against%20land.%20The%20blue%20color%20found%20in%20Antarctica%20can%20be%20extremely%20vibrant%2C%20the%20deeper%20blue%20the%20denser%20the%20ice.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

Most%20icebergs%20are%20blue%2C%20which%20is%20the%20color%20of%20compressed%20ice%20from%20glaciers.%20Icebergs%20turn%20white%20after%20a%20few%20rounds%20of%20melting%20and%20freezing.%20An%20iceberg%20may%20even%20be%20green%20if%20the%20ice%20lived%20at%20the%20bottom%20of%20an%20ice%20shelf%20and%20came%20in%20contact%20with%20seawater%20over%20the%20centuries.%20The%20fissures%20form%20when%20warm%20air%20melts%20ice%20into%20pools%2C%20which%20then%20drips%20through%20cracks%2C%20widening%20them.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

Non-tabular%20icebergs%20come%20in%20all%20sorts%20of%20shapes.%20An%20arch%20shape%20is%20fairly%20common%2C%20but%20so%20too%20is%20too%20is%20a%20cube%20or%20tall%20spire.%20A%20canyon%20can%20form%20when%20two%20tips%20connect%20underwater.%20Then%20again%2C%20the%20shape%20might%20be%20completely%20irregular.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

This%20non-tabular%20iceberg%20off%20the%20coast%20of%20the%20Antarctic%20Peninsula%20formed%20in%20the%20shape%20of%20an%20arch.%20Caves%20sometimes%20form%20when%20water%20hits%20against%20the%20base%20of%20an%20iceberg.%20These%20caves%20can%20become%20arches%20when%20the%20iceberg%26%238217%3Bs%20center%20of%20gravity%20changes%20and%20it%20flips%20on%20its%20side.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

Non-tabular%20icebergs%20can%20take%20on%20many%20different%20shapes.%20And%20that%20shape%20changes%20throughout%20its%20life.%20Frequent%20cycles%20of%20thawing%20and%20melting%2C%20every%20day%20and%20every%20season%2C%20open%20huge%20crevasses%20within%20the%20iceberg%2C%20leading%20to%20a%20complicated%20internal%20structure.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

This%20tabular%20iceberg%20has%20broken%20in%20half%20and%20may%20be%20turning%20on%20it%26%238217%3Bs%20side.%20The%20long%20horizontal%20lines%20represent%20years%20and%20years%20of%20accumulated%20snowfall.%20Like%20rings%20on%20a%20tree%20stump%2C%20they%20can%20be%20used%20to%20determine%20age.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

Tabular%20icebergs%20are%20steep%20on%20the%20sides%20and%20flat%20on%20the%20top.%20This%20tabular%20iceberg%20sits%20near%20the%20coast%20of%20the%20Antarctic%20Peninsula.%20For%20as%20large%20as%20it%20looks%20above%20water%2C%20most%20of%20this%20iceberg%20is%20below%20the%20surface.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

This%20grounded%20iceberg%2C%20by%20definition%2C%20touches%20the%20seafloor.%20Floating%20icebergs%20may%20become%20grounded%20when%20they%20drift%20into%20shallower%20water.%20As%20the%20ice%20melts%2C%20the%20weight%20shifts%2C%20and%20an%20iceberg%20will%20tumble%20in%20the%20water.%20The%20vertical%20lines%20are%20from%20scrapes%20across%20the%20seafloor.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

This%20grounded%20iceberg%20is%20located%20in%20Lemaire%20Channel%2C%20between%20Kiev%20Peninsula%20and%20Booth%20Island.%20This%20dense%20channel%20of%20grounded%20icebergs%20is%20appropriately%20named%20%26%238220%3BIceberg%20Alley.%26%238221%3B%20The%20waters%20are%20still%20enough%20to%20look%20like%20a%20lake%2C%20very%20rare%20in%20the%20extreme%20climate%20of%20the%20southern%20seas.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

The%20icebergs%20in%20iceberg%20alley%20can%20be%20as%20big%20as%20houses.%20These%20icebergs%20used%20to%20be%20floating%20in%20water%20up%20to%20the%20overhang.%20At%20some%20point%20they%20became%20grounded%20in%20shallower%20water.%20The%20area%20is%20so%20treacherous%20that%20ships%20sometimes%20have%20to%20backtrack%20and%20go%20around%20Booth%20Island%20to%20get%20by.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

Iceberg%20Alley%20contains%20icebergs%20of%20many%20shapes%2C%20sizes%20and%20colors.%20Some%20have%20likened%20their%20experience%20traveling%20through%20Iceberg%20Alley%20to%20floating%20in%20a%20giant%20cup%20of%20ice%20water.%20The%20sound%20of%20boat%20trudging%20through%20thick%20ice%20can%20be%20a%20little%20unnerving.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

This%20horseshoe-shaped%20iceberg%20also%20lives%20in%20Iceberg%20Alley.%20The%20light%20blue%20area%20shows%20where%20the%20base%20is%20just%20below%20the%20water%26%238217%3Bs%20surface%2C%20with%20no%20ice%20above.%20The%20channel%20itself%20is%20hemmed%20in%20by%20steep%20cliffs%20on%20either%20side.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29

This%20enormous%20iceberg%20sits%20in%20the%20open%20water%20between%20the%20Antarctic%20Peninsula%20and%20South%20Georgia%20Island.%20It%26%238217%3Bs%20longer%20and%20taller%20than%20the%20200-person%2C%20ocean-going%20vessel%20from%20which%20this%20picture%20was%20taken.%20Icebergs%20are%20classified%20into%20six%20official%20sizes%3A%20growler%20%28car%20size%29%2C%20bergy%20bit%20%28small%20house%20size%29%2C%20small%2C%20medium%2C%20large%20and%20very%20large.%20A%20very%20large%20iceberg%20is%20at%20least%20670%20feet%20long%20and%20240%20feet%20high.%20%28Photo%20Credit%3A%20Jordan%20Spielman%29