The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently published an image of an iceberg that differs greatly from the typical structure of an iceberg. Straight-edged icebergs are abundant, whereas icebergs with two straight edges that meet at a right angle are less common.
The image posted by the space agency was pictured in 2018 as part of Operation IceBridge, NASA's longest-running aerial survey of polar ice. Under the auspices of Operation IceBridge, NASA aircraft flew over the Arctic, Antarctica, and Alaska to collect information on the height, depth, thickness, movement, and change of sea ice, glaciers, and ice sheets.
Here is the video shot from the flight over a rectangular iceberg in the Antarctic:
NASA's IceBridge team flew over Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf and spotted this geometric mass of ice. Icebergs often have straight edges, but this one's rectangular shape is rarer.
Explaining the image, the space agency wrote that it was "a picture of sea ice extending to the horizon, taken from a low-flying aircraft." Where the ocean peeks through the ice, it is dark blue. "Most of the ocean surface is covered in rough-looking white ice, thinner and thicker in some places, interspersed with sea ice icebergs."
"The icebergs have flat tops and sheer edges that rise above the sea ice. At this scope, perspective is hard to tell, but the icebergs rise far out of the water. In the center of the frame, an iceberg dominates."
