Giant Iceberg Heads Australia's Way

On Wednesday, scientists have revealed that a massive iceberg is heading towards Australia. The size of this giant iceberg is more than 50 square miles. Around 10 years ago, it cleaved off an ice shelf and was floating around Antarctica. Now, it has moved north and is heading towards Australia. Known as B17B, latest reports suggest that it is around 1000 miles off the coast of Western Australia. B17B was discovered by satellite images taken by NASA and the European Space Agency.

Australian Antarctic Division glaciologist Neal Young went on to say, "It's one of the biggest sighted at those latitudes. B17B is a very significant one in that it has drifted so far north while still largely intact. It is unlikely to drift too close to the coast in its current form. The warmer waters will cause it to melt. As the water warms up, the iceberg is slowly breaking up, resulting in hundreds smaller icebergs in the area." Oceanographer Mike Williams said, "The icebergs had pretty much the same origin, but that some had probably been trapped in the icy seas of Antarctica for longer, before being carried north by the currents."

The Australian Antarctic Division reported that this iceberg was part of a flotilla that had broken off from a larger ice flow, that possibly came from the Ross Ice Shelf, which is Antarctica's largest. Even though shipping routes are not really very busy in these parts at this time of the year, New Zealand and Australia have issued navigation warnings.