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For more than a century, mariners and scientists observe around Antarctica the mysterious icebergs of the emerald colors.
All this time, people of science could not explain the reason greenish coloring some ice blocks in the southern ocean however now glaciologists from the University of Washington at Seattle seem to unraveled this secular mystery.
Study author Stephen Warren and his colleagues published on recently an article in the journal “Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. “It says the reason for the unusual shade of such icebergs are most likely covered in iron oxides contained in Antarctic rock. Glaciers supposedly slide from the mainland into the water and grind the rock into dust, absorbing iron compounds with oxygen.
Most often, icebergs are known to be white and bluish. The former are formed from ocean water and have no air pockets, while the latter break away from glaciers and possess many cavities with air, which is why such heavenly shades.
Initially, American researchers believed that green icebergs not of glacial, but of oceanic origin, and their unusual the color is due to the smallest marine plants getting inside the ice and animals that decompose and turn into yellow carbon shade. Like, mingling with blue glacial ice, organics in eventually stains the iceberg in a greenish color.
However, Warren and his colleagues refuted this same own theory, making sure that the blue and green icebergs contain the same amount of organic matter. Researchers Soon determined that the concentration of iron near the core of the ice shelf Aimery in East Antarctica is almost five hundred times higher than surface. Due to the fact that iron oxides are usually have red, orange and yellow hues, experts concluded what exactly is why icebergs get a green color.
According to glaciologists, iron from the south polar continent mixes up with sea water which subsequently freezes and turns into bizarre emerald ice for decades which surprised sailors.
But that’s not all: scientists have found that green icebergs are essentially a key link in the biological chain of the planet, feeding nutrient phytoplankton and other marine microorganisms. These amazingly beautiful ice blocks supply iron from Antarctica to the oceans, supporting most of the sea, and in principle – all other life on Earth. So that the new discovery of American scientists confirms the long-known the truth that Mother Nature doesn’t create anything just like that, let’s say only for some exotic or beauty. Emerald icebergs are needed primarily for planetary life and only last can play some kind of aesthetic role, striking a person with their uniqueness and mystery, which, in general, has no values. Or almost no …
Icebergs Antarctica Water Time Life
