When
you think of Antarctica, pristine white icebergs usually come to mind;
probably the last thing you’d expect are humbug-like striped icebergs,
with blue, green, yellow and even brown. But yes they exist !!! These are formed by
layers of snow that react to different conditions.
The different colours appear from different reasons, but
generally speaking, they appear because some layers of ice form in
special conditions. They’re not exactly rare, but quite uncommon still. It was Norwegian
sailor Oyvind Tangen, on board a research ship that first photographed them.
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| Striped Icebergs |
Blue stripes are the most common, and they appear
when crevices are filled with water and they freeze so fast that no
bubbles are formed. However, things are different with the other ones.
 |
Blue Striped Icebergs.
|
Green
appears because the water that freezes is extremely rich in algae,
hence the colour. Brown, yellow, and even black stripes are caused by
sediments picked up along the way when the ice sheet was sliding
downhill.
|
| Green Striped Icebergs |
It was Norwegian
sailor Oyvind Tangen, on board a research ship that first photographed
and described these glaciers . Anyway, they’re an astonishing sight by any
standards, and it’s easy to understand why sailors have pictured them as
humbugs.
 |
| Brown Striped iceergs |
When
you think of Antarctica, pristine white icebergs usually come to mind;
probably the last thing you’d expect are humbug-like striped icebergs,
with blue, green, yellow and even brown. But yes they exist !!! These are formed by
layers of snow that react to different conditions.
