Why Newfoundland has so many icebergs this year

By M.D. | ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

WHEN a giant and extremely photogenic iceberg grounded near the Newfoundland town of Ferryland in April, it brought global attention to the annual drift into the North Atlantic of icebergs calved off Greenland’s glaciers. The International Ice Patrol, set up as an aid to shipping after the Titanic sank in 1912, says 976 have been sighted so far this year south of 48 degrees north, the latitude below which they pose a danger to shipping. That is about double the average for this period. Why are there so many?

Many have been quick to blame climate change. Higher air and ocean temperatures in the Arctic have led to an acceleration of ice loss from glaciers in West Greenland. Glaciers are weakened from above when melting water seeps through and weakens cracks, and from below by warmer sea water. Meltwater also acts as a lubricant underneath a glacier, allowing it to move faster toward the sea. Scientists estimate that up to 40,000 icebergs are created each year in Baffin Bay, the body of water between Greenland and Baffin Island in Canada. They also agree the number is increasing, although not at a steady rate.

But although climate change can explain an increase in the absolute number of icebergs created off Greenland, it does not adequately explain why there are so many off Newfoundland this year. A host of other factors come into play during the two- or three-year journey an iceberg makes as it first travels north on the West Greenland current before turning south and being caught by the Labrador current. Warmer ocean temperatures can cause them to melt farther north. Heavy seas can cause icebergs to break apart, hastening their disappearance. The Labrador current itself varies in strength. And then there is the wind encountered by icebergs as they drift. Icebergs with a lot of mass above water are susceptible to being pushed by strong winds either far out in the North Atlantic or close to shore.

The combination of these factors produces huge annual variations in the number of bergs that bump along the Newfoundland coast. In 2009 there were 1,204 icebergs sighted in the shipping lanes as of mid-June, according to the International Ice Patrol. The following year there was one. The record for a complete iceberg season was 2,202 in 1984. Steve Bruneau, the author of “Icebergs of Newfoundland and Labrador”, says there is no discernable pattern that can be pinned to climate change. The number of variables also makes it impossible to predict with any accuracy what the next season will bring. Tourist operators always hope for a bumper crop because it brings in the crowds. Disappointed visitors can drown their sorrows in two local specialities, Iceberg Beer and Iceberg Vodka, both made with water that originated in those Greenland glaciers.