Iceberg drifts over 1,200 km along East Greenland coast

Danish weather agency says 3- to 6-km icebergs appear every 2, 3 years

An iceberg has drifted more than 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) along the coast of East Greenland, Danish broadcaster DR reported on Thursday, citing the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI). The iceberg measures about 5.7 kilometers (3.5 miles) in length and 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) in width, with between 10 and 25 meters (33 and 82 feet) rising above the sea surface. According to the DMI, tabular icebergs normally drift south with the sea ice along East Greenland during winter and spring, reaching southern Greenland in summer, by which time they typically measure between 200 and 500 meters. Hans Henrik Light, an ice analyst with the DMI's ice service, said icebergs measuring between three and six kilometers (1.9 and 3.7 miles) are seen only every two or three years. Light said he had been tracking the iceberg for several years. Until this winter, it had been trapped near the uninhabited Greenlandic island of Ile-de-France in northeastern Greenland. He said the iceberg had drifted more than 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from the Nioghalvfjerds Glacier and had long remained protected by surrounding sea ice. The iceberg is now free of sea ice and is expected to break into smaller icebergs as it continues drifting south, Light added. The DMI said it monitors icebergs because they can pose a hazard to shipping in Greenlandic waters, with their locations included in ice charts used by vessels navigating the area. According to the DMI, icebergs of this type were virtually non-existent along Greenland's east coast before 2000 because they were locked in by thick fast ice throughout the year. The institute said such icebergs have emerged because of the warming climate.