Worlds biggest iceberg

Posted on: 24th March 2010      Comments!

Calved from the Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000[1], B-15 broke up into several pieces in 2000, 2002 and 2003, the largest of which, B-15A, was the world's largest free-floating object at 27 x 122 km (17 x 76 mi) with an area of 3,100 sq.km (1,200 mi, approximately the size of Luxembourg). In November 2003, after the separation from B-15J iceberg, B-15A drifted away from Ross Island on the open waters of the Ross Sea. In December 2003 a small knife-shaped iceberg, B-15K (about 300 sq.km), detached itself from the main body of B-15A and started drifting northward. In 2005 prevailing currents took B-15A slowly past the Drygalski ice tongue; the collision broke off the tip of Drygalski in mid-April. Then the iceberg sailed on along the coast leaving McMurdo Sound until it ran aground off Cape Adare in Victoria Land and broke into several smaller pieces on 27-28 October 2005. The largest piece is still named B-15A (its surface is now approx. 1,700 sq.km), while three additional pieces were named B-15P, B-15M and B-15N. It has since moved farther up north and broken up into more pieces. These were spotted by air force fisheries patrol on 3 November 2006. On 21 November several large pieces were seen just 60 km off the coast of Timaru, New Zealand. The largest measures about 1.8 km (~1 mi), rising 37 m (120 ft) from the surface of the ocean. also the same iceberg that took down titanic.