Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1910-08-12
THE ARCTIC CROP.
Frigid Yield From Greenland's
Icy Mountains.
TIE MAKING OF AN ICEBERG.
Huge Sheets of Ice a Mile Thick In
Places Slide Down to the Sea. and
as the Ends Become Too Heavy
They Break of and Form eeres.


as the Ends Become Too Heavy
They Break Off and Form eergs.
AT any time OF the yrni Ice may be
encountered In the Atlantic north nf
the furtipth parallel ot attitude. np-
proXimately that OF New York. and
between ~ and ~ degrees west longi.
tude. but 1t is IN spring. when the III.
creasing warmth of the sun ious"lis
the arctic Hoes and causes the bergs 10
melt and tiuat from the places where
they have been Strnn,lrd. that there IN
the greatest danger to the marinrr
The bergs nave their origin almost
exclusively IN western Greenland al.
though few may come around Cape
Farewell from the SpiiZbcrgrn SEA and
some from Hudson bay.
A huge sheet of ice mile thick in
places covers the whole of Greenland.
This gradually slides down the valley
toward the sea. into whirh 1t is thrust
in great sheets fifty miles wide As
these ends become too heavy they
break off and become bergS The proc
ess is known MS "calvina" The pieces
set ndrift thus may be II thousand feet
out ut the water and n mile square.
but ais they drift about they become
broken and continue to diminish in
size until they finally disappear com
plptcly rhe process sometimes takes
several years
Once set ndrift iccbcrgS find their
way into the Labrador current and hc-
gin th'n inuinnv but at all ,rrws so
evri hEd thrll way into The path ut the
transatlantic steamships
N.t do all bergs take the same
cOti:,t" Some go south: others lodge
agauri the shore or against islands.
Two years may separate Tie lime that
two brrgS reach II low latitude. though
they were "calvpd" ut the same mo.
mpnt.
Field ice also offers an obstruction TO
the icrbrrgS. thrugh by their great
size and bulk they often act as plows
and aid materially in breaking up the
ice fields which obstruct the arctic ba-
sin.
Ice fields are more affected by the
wind than are icebprgs, Brrgs gener-
ally drift with the current. so that one
sometimes is seen moving into the
wind.
Advantage is taken of this by the
sealing and fishing boats when caught
in an ice field. They often moor to an
iceberg and are towed miles through
ice OH WI nfh rNt-iS hnv
could make no headway. This Is ac
complished by sinking an anchor into
the berg and using IA strong towllne.
AS the berg advances open water. with
small floating Ice. is left astern.
But this is indeed a dangerous thing
to do. All Ice Is brittle. but especially
icebergs. a blow of an AK has been
of a gun at times will accomplish the
same end. In July and August. when
the bergs are breaking up along the
coast of Labrador. the noise at times
Is deafening. and the noise of one Of
ten causes another TO break up
From their very nihure lcebergs as
sumo an endless variety of shapes
while others carry fantastic domes.
spires and mlnarets. Sometimes they
appear to be veritabie Ice bridges,
with two separate supports. In many
there are great caves and indenta-
tionS. AS they drift south and begin
melting cascades of water pour down
their sides or run from the tips of the
H., sasn l,t, "A
every ledge.
Frequently there are outlying spurs
in the water. as dangerous to ships as
submerged reefs. For this reason yes
sells should always give them wide
berth. half a mile being considered the
nearest thar one may be approached
with safety.
Several years ago the British steam
ship Nessmore ran into an iceberg and
stove In her bows. When she was
docked scratch was found next the
keel the full length of the ship. the
plates being almost cut through. The
ship evidently struck submerged
spur. The government report says:
ut is generally best for ships to go
to windward of them. because disin-
tegrated fragments have tendency to
drift to leeward. while open water will
be found to windward.'
So nicely are icebergs balanced In
the water that the slightest melting
sometimes will cause the center of
gravity to shift. and the entire berg
will capsize or founder Thus many
ships have been wrecked.
Field ice is formed throughout the
waters within the arctic circle south
as far as Newfoundland. and each
year vast foes leave the shores and
drift south into the paths of COM
merce. The arctic Ice often has lived
through several seasons in the far
north and occasionally Is ten to fifteen
and sometimes twenty feet thick Be-
cause of its continual motion. due to
currents. wind. etc. gradually 1t be-
comes broken up. Swels from storms
in the open seas cause II TO raft or
pile one pau on another in the arctic