Biggest Iceberg Ever - the Size of Isle Royale

 

A tabular iceberg - a smaller version of the one we saw as we were leaving South Georgia

Friday, November 10 -  At Sea,  east and south of South Georgia 

After dinner tonight, Michael and I sat for a while on Deck Six in the Ice Lounge.  We were heading out to sea, east and south of South Georgia, on our way to the Weddell Sea.

As he was looking to the northern horizon, Michael noticed a giant wall of an iceberg off to the starboard side.  Indeed, there was a line of a flat, tabular iceberg as far as the eye could see, across the whole horizon.  We went to the bridge and they were very excited to see it.  Based on the Norwegian Ice charts, its D70A, one of the giant tabular icebergs that they track via satellite.  

It's about  40 miles long and 8 miles wide. That's the size of Isle Royale! Or 1/3 the size of South Georgia.  It will take us an hour to pass by its full length. It's so incredible what’s happening to our planet. A sobering, first hand reminder of climate change. 

There was an “ice glow” above the surface of the iceberg - a halo of light from the sun reflecting off the top of the berg, that could be seen, even in the twilight.  Apparently, that ice glow was one of the signs that the whalers watched for to help with early warning about icebergs, before modern navigation tools were available.

(PS, there are bigger icebergs - but this is one of the biggest)

Tabular iceberg D70A, stretching across the horizon

You can see the "ice glow" above the iceberg - a warning sign for early sailors without radar

A satellite image of South Georgia (green circle) and iceberg D70A (red circle)

Ship navigator Jana shows me how they steer the Endurance

This cute, tiny joy stick is used for steering - kinda like a video game!

Radar showing the position of all the icebergs in our vicinity

A "small" tabular iceberg on our horizon

The Endurance could fit under one of these arches!