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Iceberg

An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. The word iceberg is a partial loan translation from Dutch ijsberg, literally meaning ice mountain, cognate to Danish Isbjerg, Swedish Isberg, Low Saxon Iesbarg and German Eisberg. Because the density of pure ice is about 920 kg/m³, and that of sea water about 1025 kg/m³, typically only one-tenth of the volume of an iceberg is above water. The shape of the remainder under the water can be difficult to surmise from looking at what is visible above the surface. This has led to the expression "tip of the iceberg", generally applied to a problem or difficulty, meaning that the visible trouble is only a small manifestation of a larger problem. Icebergs generally range from 1 to 75 meters (3–250 ft) above sea level and weigh 100,000 to 200 000 tonnes. The tallest known iceberg in the North Atlantic was 168 meters (550 ft) above sea level, making it the height of a 55-story building. Despite their size, the icebergs of Newfoundland move an average of 17 kilometers a day (10 mi).These icebergs originate from the glaciers of western Greenland, and may have an interior temperature of -15 to -20°C (5 to -4 °F). Though usually confined by winds and currents to move close to the coast, the largest icebergs recorded are calved, or broken off from, the Ross Ice Shelf of Antarctica.

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