Gigantic iceberg floats west of Iceland's West Fjords
A huge iceberg rising over 100 metres above the ocean surface floated 50 nautical miles (93 kilometres) west of Látrabjarg in the West Fjords last night. The photograph was captured by sailor Haraldur Hjálmarsson at 8.30 pm.
Hjálmarsson says that another iceberg was looming behind it, of a much smaller scale as well as smaller pieces of ice.
According to geologist and sea ice expert Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir at the University of Iceland it is not unusual for icebergs breaking off Greenlandic glacier being seen at this time of year. She has located the iceberg on a sattelite image and will be following its journey.
"Sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference between an iceberg and a large ship on a sattelite image," she explains. "The good thing about icebergs is that they should be clearly visible on ship radars. Icebergs can pose a greater danger to shops when they begin to break and are less visible on radar."