The National Science Foundation (NSF) is making available the only
aerial photographs taken to date of an enormous iceberg which calved
from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica earlier this year.
What: Digital images of iceberg B-15 and other large Antarctic
icebergs at a resolution of 300 dpi. (Photos should be credited to
Josh Landis, National Science Foundation)
How: The photographs were taken from a ski-equipped LC- 130
aircraft flown the N.Y. Air National Guard, which provides logistical
support to the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP). NSF, through the USAP,
coordinates all U.S. scientific research in Antarctica.
Background: When the iceberg-designated B-15-broke off the
Ross Ice Shelf in late March, it was approximately 11,000 square kilometers
(4,250 square miles) in area, making it one of the largest floating
icebergs ever observed. Subsequent gyrations of the ice have broken
the original berg into several enormous pieces. One of those pieces
also has broken off a separate, very large iceberg that has been designated
C-16. The NSF images include photos of both icebergs.
The icebergs have been drifting slowly in the direction of McMurdo
Sound and McMurdo Station, the main U.S. scientific station in Antarctica.
There is some concern that the enormous pieces of ice could close shipping
lanes. An NSF-sponsored scientific team is scheduled to visit the icebergs
during the 2000 research season to place tracking devices on them and
to conduct other science.
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