March 30, 2006, Washington D.C.-- The National Ice Center (NIC) discovered a new iceberg after Iceberg C-16 collided with the Drygalski Ice Tongue, breaking off the eastern most tip of the ice tongue (Figure 1). The Drygalski Ice Tongue is a large sheet of glacial ice and snow between Mt. Larsen and Mt. Joyce of the Prince Albert Mountains, within the Central Ross Sea. The new iceberg, named C-25, is located at 75° 23’ 49” South and 165° 22’ 18” East. Iceberg C-25 measures 7 nautical miles on its longest axis and 6 nautical miles on its widest axis. LCDR Taylor, NIC Operations Officer, confirmed the forming of C-25.

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, C-25 is sequentially the 25th iceberg tracked by the NIC in Antarctica between 180-90E (Quadrant C).

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