April 03, 2008, Washington D.C. -- The National Ice
Center (NIC) discovered iceberg B-15A has calved,
creating an iceberg that meets criteria for naming
and tracking by the NIC. The new iceberg will be
named B-15U, being the 21th occurrence that a portion
of B-15 has calved. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) imagery indicated the presence of B-15U on
30 March 2008 (Figure 1) and clearly shows B-15U
with significant distance from B-15A. Based on area
currents and weather patterns, calving possibly occured
on or about March 16, 2008, but unknown due to persistent
cloud coverage over the area. B-15U is currently
located at 61.05S 177.18W, and measures 15NM x 01NM,
based off MODIS imagery from 30 March 2008.
Iceberg names are derived from the Antarctic quadrant
in which they were originally sighted. The quadrants
are divided counter-clockwise in the following manner:
A = 0-90W (Bellinghausen/Weddell Sea)
B = 90W-180 (Amundsen/Eastern Ross Sea)
C = 180-90E (Western Ross Sea/Wilkesland)
D = 90E-0 (Amery/Eastern Weddell Sea).
When first sighted, an iceberg’s point of origin is
documented by the NIC. The letter of the quadrant,
along with a sequential number, is assigned to the
iceberg. For example, A-53 is sequentially the 53rd
iceberg tracked by the NIC in Antarctica between 0-90W
(Quadrant A).
The National Ice Center is a tri-agency operational
center represented by the United States Navy (Department
of Defense), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(Department of Commerce), and the United States Coast
Guard (Department of Homeland Security). The National
Ice Center mission is to provide worldwide operational
ice analyses for the armed forces of the United States
and allied nations, U.S. government agencies, and the
private sector.
For more information, please contact:
National Ice Center
Naval Ice Center
Liaison Branch
Voice: 301-394-3100
E-mail: liaison@natice.noaa.gov
