A rare black iceberg spotted off the coast of Labrador has captured social media users’ attention, with many speculating about its origins and composition. The iceberg was photographed by Hallur Antoniussen, a fish harvester from Carbonear, N.L., while he was fishing for shrimp in mid-May.
Originally from the Faroe Islands, Antoniussen described the iceberg as “completely different” from other icebergs he had seen before, with its unique black color and diamond-shaped appearance. He took a photo of the berg from about 100 kilometres away and posted it on Facebook, which quickly went viral.
Lev Tarasov, a physicist at Memorial University, suggested that the iceberg could be made up of ancient rock dust brought by an asteroid impact in the distant past. This theory is not ruled out entirely, as there are volcanoes beneath Iceland’s ice caps, and scientists have measured hotspots in Greenland’s central region.
Tarasov also noted that smaller versions of the black iceberg were observed during his fieldwork on Greenland last summer, but none as large or impressive as this one. He estimates that the ice in the berg is at least 1,000 years old, possibly even older than 100,000 years.
The discovery serves as a reminder of the dynamic nature of ice and how it can be shaped by geological processes. Ice streams, which carry ice from the interior to the coast, can pick up rocks and dirt along the way, creating unique features like the black iceberg.
Source: https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/nature/outdoors/rare-black-iceberg-spotted-off-labrador-coast-has-social-media-buzzing