Iceberg
Topic: World Climate Classification: Koeppen's Scheme · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 11 "World Climate and Climate Change"
Meaning
An iceberg is a large floating block of freshwater ice that has broken off a glacier or an ice sheet. Ice is a little lighter than seawater, so it floats, but about nine-tenths of it lies below the water. Ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica flow slowly to the sea, and their edges break off as icebergs. Ocean currents carry them away, where they can be a danger to ships.
Example
The cold Labrador current carries icebergs from Greenland south into the shipping lanes of the North Atlantic. One of them sank the Titanic in 1912. This led to the setting up of the International Ice Patrol in 1914.
Don't confuse with
- Sea ice: sea ice forms when seawater freezes at the surface. An iceberg is freshwater ice from land that has broken off a glacier or ice sheet.