NASA Finds Perfectly Rectangular Iceberg In Antarctica As If It Was Deliberately Cut

There are moments when you view an image and find it difficult to believe that is not a shoddy Photoshop job. One of those pictures is this one. An odd image of an iceberg that was almost a perfect square was uploaded on Twitter by NASA's ICE team, which is in charge of polar research. A fleet of research planes from NASA's Operation IceBridge, which photographs the polar ice on Earth, captured the image.

The strange creation was spotted close to the Larsen C ice shelf, which made headlines in July 2017 when a significant portion of it famously detached from the Antarctic Peninsula. It's more common for you to witness icebergs with strange geometric shapes. However, this specific iceberg is referred to as a tabular iceberg because it has steep sides and a flat top, as suggested by its name.

Kelly Brunt, a NASA ice scientist from the University of Maryland, stated in a statement to Live Science that this particular square shape was "a bit unique" and that it was probably approximately 1.6 kilometres (1 mile) broad. It also likely has a more iceberg-like geometric shape underneath, despite seeming flat on the surface. B-15, the largest iceberg ever seen, was a tabular iceberg.

From yesterday's #IceBridge flight: A tabular iceberg can be seen on the right, floating among sea ice just off of the Larsen C ice shelf. The iceberg's sharp angles and flat surface indicate that it probably recently calved from the ice shelf. pic.twitter.com/XhgTrf642Z

— NASA Ice (@NASA_ICE) October 17, 2018

It was seen breaking from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica in March 2000, measuring 295 kilometres (183 miles) long and 37 kilometres (23 miles) broad. According to Science Alert, the new iceberg's sharp edges indicate that it calved quite recently. Its sleek edges will eventually start to disintegrate because of the water and wind.

 

But it's an interesting look at how these icebergs may assume a variety of shapes, even ones that don't appear to be genuine at all. Not every recent iceberg news has been as interesting as this one. The moment a massive iceberg in eastern Greenland broke free from a glacier was caught on camera by scientists last month. We can monitor the impact that climate change is having on the earth by collecting photographs and videos like these.

Along with tiny, pinnacle-shaped, towering, and thin icebergs, that iceberg was also a broad, flat tabular iceberg. Tabular icebergs also often crack and fall apart, perhaps through a collision, forming a less regular shape. Just keep in mind that your eyes are not deceiving you the next time you see an oddly rectangular iceberg. even if it seems rather bizarre.