2redhead2
Glacial Calving in Alaska
This first picture (better large) gives a broad view of a glacial calving. Calving of glaciers is often preceded by a loud cracking or booming sound before blocks of ice up to 200 feet high break loose and crash into the water. The entry of the ice into the water causes large, and often hazardous wakes. The wakes formed in locations like Johns Hopkins Glacier can be so large that boats cannot approach closer than two miles. These events have become major tourist attractions in Alaska.
The following pictures show the beginning to end of an episode of calving. The second shows the beginning burst of ice, the third shows one of the chunks that is breaking off, the fourth shows the large splash into the fjord, and the last shows the receding splash. (The little black objects in the water are seals that like to float on the chunks of ice!)
Many glaciers terminating at oceans or freshwater lakes naturally calve, and seeing this glacial calving is really exciting, but the thought that global warming is adding to the frequency of the calving puts a bit of a damper on that excitement.
Glacial Calving in Alaska
This first picture (better large) gives a broad view of a glacial calving. Calving of glaciers is often preceded by a loud cracking or booming sound before blocks of ice up to 200 feet high break loose and crash into the water. The entry of the ice into the water causes large, and often hazardous wakes. The wakes formed in locations like Johns Hopkins Glacier can be so large that boats cannot approach closer than two miles. These events have become major tourist attractions in Alaska.
The following pictures show the beginning to end of an episode of calving. The second shows the beginning burst of ice, the third shows one of the chunks that is breaking off, the fourth shows the large splash into the fjord, and the last shows the receding splash. (The little black objects in the water are seals that like to float on the chunks of ice!)
Many glaciers terminating at oceans or freshwater lakes naturally calve, and seeing this glacial calving is really exciting, but the thought that global warming is adding to the frequency of the calving puts a bit of a damper on that excitement.