Mary Keller, a scientist at the National Ice Center in Suitland, Md., sighted the iceberg using satellite data. These satellites are operated by the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The National Ice Center's mission is to provide world-wide operational ice analyses for the armed forces of the United States and allied nations, U.S. government agencies, and the private sector. Ice shelves are massive, floating sheets of snow and frozen water that encircle the Antarctic mainland. Scientists at University College London believe that the breaking off, or calving, of icebergs is an important mechanism in the disintegration of ice shelves, and a possible indicator of global warming.
Scientists there report that the mechanics of ice shelf fracturing remain poorly understood.
A research group at the college is planning to study ice core samples from the Ronne Ice Shelf to learn more about fracture and deformation properties. The last known iceberg of this magnitude to calve off a Southern Hemisphere Ice Shelf was B-9 in the Ross Sea in October 1987. Iceberg names are derived from the Antarctic quadrant in which they were originally sighted. When an iceberg is first sighted, the National Ice Center documents its point of origin. The letter of the quadrant, along with a sequential number, is assigned to the iceberg.