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Monday, 27 August 2012

Iceberg Breeding Ground -- Gaasefjord


This is an extraordinary "fluke" photo taken by satellite above Gaasefjord, one of the fjords running into Scoresby Sund, East Greenland.  Sorry if the photo and the caption appear pornographic.........

These are two tidewater glaciers ejecting a constant supply of icebergs and brash ice into the fjord.  We are probably looking at a six-month winter supply of glacier ice here which has simply piled up because it could not escape -- the photo was probably taken in May or June just as the sea ice was breaking up and "releasing" the accumulated iceberg debris so that it could be more easily dispersed into the fjord and onwards towards the outer coast. 

You don't often see a dense accumulation of iceberg debris blocking up a fjord like this -- by comparison, the icebergs (and brash ice) falling off the glacier snout into the sea in the summer are all quite rapidly dispersed by tides, winds and currents.

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