The unusual black iceberg has caused social media excitement after being seen off the coast of Labrador in Canada. The picture was taken by 64-year-old fish harvester Hallur Antoniussen, who had gone out on his trawler, Saputi, to fish for shrimp. Antoniussen was struck by the unusual color of the iceberg, which he described as “completely different” from those he had previously seen.
The black color of the iceberg has generated interest, with most social media users being in awe of its appearance and attempting to devise explanations for how it came to be. Some have posited that the black color may be a result of dirt or rocks trapped in the ice. Glaciologist Lev Tarasov has proposed that one explanation could be that the iceberg used to belong to a massive glacier that calved off and sank into the ocean.
When the iceberg is melting, chances are that the clean ice below is starting to appear. Tarasov points out that 90% of the iceberg is submerged in water, so we’re only observing a fraction of it. Icebergs tend to look white because air bubbles within them scatter light, but as ice ages and gets compressed, it will turn clear or have a dark color if it accumulates dirt or other substance.
Antoniussen said he estimated that the iceberg was three times bigger than an ordinary bungalow, though it’s difficult to estimate its dimension in the ocean. Antoniussen did not have his camera with him, but he took his phone immediately to take a picture. The picture was later popular on social media with most people appreciating the unusual view. “I’ve seen many large icebergs, but never a black one,” one of the viewers posted.
