Norwich bulletin., 1914-12-09
DESCRIPTION OF THE
 BIRTH OF AN ICEBERG
Told by Men Who Headed
 Alaska Expeditions.
Special to The Buretin.)


 Washington. D. c. Dec. S.-The birth of an iceberg is strikingly described in report made to the National Geo. graphic Society by R. s. Tarr ana Law renee Martin, who headed the expe- ditions of the Society to Alaska for the study of the behavior of glaciers there.
 "The front of Hubbard Glacier, measured in a straight line, is 3 1-2 to
 miles wide; but since the ice cliffs
 has a sinuouS form with projections in
 the center. it is in reality much longer than this. the total length being be- tween 1-2 and miles. The cliff
 rises between 25e and 300 meet above the water and extends an unknown distance below it. One usually needs from some part of the cliffs the thun-
 derlike rumble or roar which is the first announcement of an iceberg fall, followed few moments later by the appearance of a great swell which. on reaching the shore. forms a line of white breakers even at a distance of several miles from the ice cliff. By watching the ice cliff, one may see the huge masses fall from the ice front and a fountain of water dash perhaps even to the top of the glacier, and then, in
 a few seconds, hear the report which the rendiEg of the glacier sends out. | One Is fascinated by the performance; sometimes 1t IS only small piece that falls and then a sharp single report,
 like the crack of pistol, goes through crumbles and the down sliding ice,
 broken into small pieces, seems from
 a distance like a fountain of water
 while the report Is only a, low rumble: | at other times huge masses break
 away, forming large icebergs, and the | noise then produced is like the heavy
 rumble of distant thunder; and at rare
 intervals one may see huge mass of
 blue or black ice thrust itself up from
 below the ford, some distance from the glacier front, as a part of the sub-
 merged ice foot is broken of, and then | no report is heard, but the waves that
 follows is far greater than usual. The water waves which follow the discharge of icebergS from the front of
 Hubbard Glacier are of great magni-
 tude. In September, 1918, for ex- ample, the steamship Princess 1 MaQpInna was aground on a. reef just
 west of Osier Island with the members I Of the international Geological Con-
 gress who visited YalSutat Bay under the guidance of the junior author. The ship lay over a mile from the glacier, l and yet the water wave following the discharge of icebergs from Hubbard Glacier caused the steamer to roll un- til she took in water on the main deck, as first one side and then the other
 was tipped far down by the iceberg waves.
 | mere are peEQos when Tor sn nour or two there is very little discharge. and then periods, fully as long. when scarcely a moment elapses without the sound of ice-fans from some part of the glacier front It is possible that
 these differences are in some way re-
 lated to the state of the tide, but we have not determined whether the periods of quiet and activity from part Of a regular cycle or are merely irreg- l ular intervals due to accumulation of strain and relief from strain or to ex- pansion and contraction under sum- l light While there are periods of rela- | tive quiet. they are not periods of ab- | solute repoee, and they occupy far less 1 time than the periods of activity. Day
 and night the ice falls and the re-