3X The Size Of The Empire State Building: When Megascale Icebergs Run Aground
Between Greenland and Spitsbergen, scientists have found the scours on the sea bed left behind by gigantic icebergs - about three times the height of the Empire State Building. The five lineaments, at a depth of 1,200 meters, are the lowest-lying iceberg scours yet to be found on the Arctic sea floor, and provide insight into the dynamics and the extent of last Ice Age and the Arctic ice sheet thousands of years ago. "Whenever icebergs run aground, they leave scours on the seabed. Depending on their depth and location, those markings may continue to exist over long periods of time," explained Jan Erik Arndt, Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) bathymetrician and lead author of a new paper on the subject. read more