Incredible images show a huge iceberg drifting dangerously close to the shore in Greenland. The towering structure has been edging closer to a harbor in Innaarsuit, where local authorities have issued warnings to the public.
It is now near the Royal Greenland fish factory and the local food store, where people are being advised to take care when visiting. The Avannaata Municipality said: ‘Emergency services encourage families not to go in a group towards the store, while at the same time asking people with walking difficulties to be extra careful when walking towards the store.
‘The emergency services also want you to be careful when sailing both to and from the settlement. ‘The emergency services are aware of the iceberg and are prepared if it breaks apart.’
Dennis Lehtonen (pictured), who works locally, said the iceberg originally came to the village approximately a week ago, but appeared to move on. He said: ‘This Monday, however, the iceberg would return to Innaarsuit and since then it has been (almost) in the same location since then.
‘Because of this, the Avannaata Kommunia (North Greenland municipality) issued the official warning for the iceberg and we are temporarily closing the local fish factory where I work as well as the small shop.’ He added: ‘I have asked the locals about their feelings for the iceberg. Some say they’re worried, but there are plenty of people who are sort or excited (like me).’
It comes just weeks after a fisherman spotted a black iceberg off the coast of Canada. Hallur Antoniussen, originally from the Faroe Islands, was aboard a fishing trawler when he spotted the strange sight.
‘I have seen icebergs that are rolled, what they say have rolled in the beach with some rocks in it,’ he told CBC Radio. ‘This one here is completely different. It’s not only that he is all black. He is almost…in a diamond shape.’
Mr Antoniussen, 64, said it was hard to estimate the size of the iceberg since it was roughly six kilometres away when he took a photograph of it. However, he believes it was at least three times the size of a regular bungalow. Icebergs traditionally appear white because they are filled with tiny pockets of trapped air that scatter all wavelengths of light.
One explanation for the rare black iceberg is that it became mixed with a lot of debris thousands of years ago when it was part of a larger glacier. As glaciers move towards the ocean they grind along the ground, stirring up debris that becomes mixed in with the ice.
