Tempest-toss't icebergs

Here's a story about an Alaskan storm that generated a sea swell, that apparently broke apart a giant iceberg in Antarctica.

That's something I haven't seen predicted in the global warming models. Some have predicted increased storminess, but I don't think anyone ever expected this kind of consequence.

Tiny ocean swells may seem too small to break an iceberg, but the crew of Captain Cook's Endeavour knew well their hazards. The Endeavour ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef near Australia on a calm night in 1770. "But there was just enough swell to pick up the Endeavour and pound it relentlessly against the coral heads," MacAyeal said. Until his crew lightened the ship, Cook feared it would be pounded to smithereens.

And just like the Endeavour, the iceberg had run aground near Cape Adare and the Possession Islands in Antarctica before the swell hit. "We think that B15A was in the right position where these waves would be fatal to it," MacAyeal said. "The iceberg shattered like a gracile wine glass being sung to by a heavy soprano."

We study and learn...