Three thousand years ago, snow fell on Greenland, creating what would become an iceberg in this century. Centuries pass and snow piles up, until it is 60 to 70 meters thick and forms glacial ice. As glaciers slowly flow into the ocean, the end of the glaciers calve, or break off. In Greenland, some 40,000 medium to large sized icebergs calve each year, making their way south. Of the 10,000 to 15,000 icebergs annually calved from glaciers in the Arctic, on the average only 375 pass Newfoundland into the North Atlantic Ocean. On April 14, 1912, an iceberg was some 5,000 miles south of the Arctic Circle when a boat ran into it, leaving a smear of red paint along the base of the berg. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Apr 16, 2012 - 34 comments

The 20-day Expedition Titanic will use remotely operated submersibles to complete an unprecedented archaeological analysis of the two- by three-mile (three- by five-kilometer) debris field, including Titanic's two halves. The ship's bow and stern separated before sinking and now lie a third of a mile (half a kilometer) apart. [more inside]
posted by gman on Aug 29, 2010 - 18 comments

Atlantic Ocean Abrupt Temperature Drop A Mystery for Scientists.
posted by stbalbach on Aug 11, 2003 - 12 comments