© Youtube/ScreenshotWhy are some icebergs green?
A team of glaciologists from the University of Washington claim to have solved the enigma of emerald green icebergs floating around Antarctica, and suggested that the reason behind it is iron oxide.
In a study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, they made an assumption that significant amounts of iron oxide in rock dust from Antarctica's mainland are trapped in the ice.
"Previously, dissolved organic carbon had been proposed to be responsible for the green colour. Subsequent measurements of low DOC values in green icebergs, together with the recent finding of large concentrations of iron in marine ice from the Amery Ice Shelf, suggest that the colour of green icebergs is caused by iron-oxide minerals than by dissolved organic carbon".
© WikipediaMap showing the location of Amery Ice Shelf
"It's like taking a package to the post office. The iceberg can deliver this iron out into the ocean far away, and then melt and deliver it to the phytoplankton that can use it as a nutrient. We always thought green icebergs were just an exotic curiosity, but now we think they may actually be important", said Stephen Warren, a glaciologist at the University of Washington.
Warren, who has been studying the green-tinged hunks of ice for over 30 years, took the first sample from one of them back in 1988, near the Amery Ice Shelf of East Antarctica.
"When we climbed up on that iceberg, the most amazing thing was actually not the colour but rather the clarity. This ice had no bubbles. It was obvious that it was not ordinary glacier ice", Warren stated.
The researchers will need to sample more icebergs and chemically analyse the minerals to determine whether their assumptions are correct. If the theory holds, the green-hued chunks of ice may be an essential means of transport for iron to remote areas in the Southern Ocean.
Reader Comments
If it were simply a rust phenomenon, one would expect a large number of reddish icebergs (maybe even a larger number than the green ones) as well. While iron oxide may be the predominant component, the prevalence of the green color would indicate the presence of other elements in the mix that are just as necessary for the phenomenon to exist.
Let me solve another mystery, and assume that either the scientists or the journalists are dumbshits. Or both.
The article / science seems to attempt to justify that the bergs are green due to Iron Oxide by coming up with some ID (?) feeding mechanism of Iron Oxide to the depths of the ocean
Instead of cock and bull stories about why god felt the need to deliver Iron Oxide icebergs to the oceans, shouldn't they focus on the science - i.e. if the icebergs are green due to iron oxide, where does that iron oxide come from
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But having them distributed over a large volume of ice means they were once distributed over large areas through the air. And how come such heavy compounds up in the air ... ???
When things are green without chlorophyll on this earth, (e.g., the Statue of Liberty, a true penny, et al) they are usually made of and/or involve 'Copper' / Cu; but I find no such references above.
R.C
Color is related to the determinant atom distances (wavelengths = light color).
And iron might be one of the ingredients for want of better word that was/is necessary for sustaining this particular species, if it is... if so it would have engulfed the iron particles and formed a protective layer preventing oxidation... that’s my kitchen table theory.
But they have been studying it for 30 years... ???