When does an Iceberg become an Ice Island?

What's the difference?

 

When its not a lettuce nt

 

Don't you know that?

An Ice Island is a large piece of floating ice protruding about 5 m above sea level, which has broken away from an Arctic ice shelf. They have a thickness of 30-50 m and an area of from a few thousand square metres to 500 sq. km or more. They are usually characterized by a regularly undulating surface giving a ribbed appearance from the air. </p>

An Iceberg is a massive piece of ice of greatly varying shape, protruding 5 m or more above sea level, which has broken away from a glacier and which may be afloat or aground. They may be described as tabular,domed, pinnacled, wedged, drydocked or blocky. Sizes of icebergs are classed as small, medium, large and very large. </p>

Note: Ice Island is an Arctic term. In Antarctica, ice islands and calved-off glacier ice are both called icebergs.</p>

 

10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 140 feet deep.

Just think how many gin and tonics you could make with that much ice. One of those would last Mrs Burgundy Red and myself nearly the whole summer.

 

lol!

As long as that?

 

Wasn't being funny or owt

Just a bit confused. Couldn't really see the difference between the news reports and Wikipedia's definition. Wikipedia doesn't seem to do Ice islands.</p>

Thought the mediamight be laying it on a bit to enhance the GW debate that's all. You know how these new expressions seem to slip uninvited into the language.</p>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceberg</p>

 

Well, not if it's hot

Obviously.

 

I hadn't a clue either. Cut and paste from BBC.

 

RE: Wasn't being funny or owt

Looking at those definitions though you can see where the ice island comes into the climate change debate, as it a piece broken off the Artic ice shelf rather than the natural break off from a glacier to form an iceberg. Learn summat new everyday on this site, most of it is ballocks like but there's the occasional gem!