2 huge icebergs let loose off Antarctica's coast
SYDNEY. March 2. KAZINFORM. A massive iceberg struck Antarctica, dislodging another giant block of ice from a glacier, Australian and French scientists said Friday; Kazinform refers to China Daily.
The two icebergs are drifting together about 62 to 93 miles (100 to 150 kilometers) off eastern Antarctica following the collision on Feb. 12 or 13, said Australian Antarctic Division glaciologist Neal Young.
The iceberg that hit the Mertz Glacier is called B9B and had broken free from another part of Antarctica in 1987. It has been nuzzling and shifting alongside the Mertz for about 18 years before this month's dislodging, said Benoit Legresy, a researcher with the LEGOS laboratory for geophysical studies in Toulouse, France.
The icebergs, weighing 860 billion tons and 700 billion tons respectively, are in water over the Antarctic Continental Shelf, Young said.
"We expect them to head west along the Antarctic coastline," he said.
Young said it was not likely they would reach as far north as Australia, and noted icebergs move slowly; Kazinform cites China Daily. See www.chinadaily.com.cn for full version.