February 17, 2006, Washington D.C.-- The National Ice Center (NIC) discovered that
iceberg B-15A (Figure 1) has calved one iceberg that meets criteria for naming and
tracking by the NIC. The new iceberg will be named B-15Q. This iceberg marks the
15th occurrence that a portion of B-15 has calved. B-15Q is currently located at
68???’S 157?48’E, and measures 14 nautical miles x 03 nautical miles.

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). Any further calving of original berg will be suffixed sequentially with letters, i.e. A-53 calves in two, bergs will be identified A-53A and A-53B.

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