NATIONAL ICE CENTER CONFIRMS NEW ANTARCTIC ICEBERG

March 24, 2006 � An iceberg about the size of Martha’s Vineyard broke off from the Fimbul Ice Shelf, a large glacial ice sheet, located along the northwestern section of Queen Maud Land, in the eastern Weddell Sea near Antarctica. (Click satellite image for larger view of iceberg D-16 taken on March 16, 2006, at 1:32 a.m. EST. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “DMSP.”)

The National Ice Center, using visible satellite imagery from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, announced the discovery after it spotted the iceberg, named D-16, break off.

Currently, D-16, which measures 15 nautical miles on its longest axis and 8 nautical miles on its widest axis, is located 69 22’ 48” South and 0 12’ 0” East.

Iceberg names are derived from the Antarctic quadrant where they are first sighted. When they are first observed, the National Ice Center documents an iceberg's point of origin. The iceberg is assigned the letter of the quadrant, along with the sequential number.

Based in Suitland, Md., the National Ice Center is a tri-agency operational center represented by NOAA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. The NIC’s mission is to provide worldwide operational ice analyses for the armed forces of the United States and allied nations, U.S. government
agencies and private shipping and oil industries.

NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation's coastal and marine resources.

Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners and nearly 60 countries to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes.

Relevant Web Sites
National Ice Center

Media Contact:
John Leslie, NOAA Satellite and Information Service, (301) 457-5005