DMI reports a very large so-called table ice mountain that is about to break free from the big ice to the east and could potentially reach far to the south.
A so-called table iceberg is entering a new phase of its journey along East Greenland’s coast, DMI announces.
Table icebergs are characterized by the flat surface and steep walls, and the iceberg in question is very large, 5.7 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide.
The ice service expects that the table ice mountain will soon release the large ice and drift further towards Tasiilaq and perhaps much further south, says ice mapper Hans Henrik Light on DMI’s website:
– The iceberg has drifted over 1,200 km from the Seventy-Nine Glacier. It has been in operation together with the Storisen for a long time and has been partially protected from wind, waves and swells. Now it is free of sea ice and thus also more exposed. From now on, we will be able to see it turn into more and smaller icebergs as it drifts further south.
– We only see icebergs of 3-6 kilometers like this every two or three years, says Hans Henrik Light.
DMI states that these table icebergs were largely absent on the east coast before 2000, when the fjord in question had previously been permanently blocked by the fast ice. But now a warmer climate means that approximately every 2-4 year is a free lane, so that icebergs can drift away.
