The Mystery Of Jade-Green Antarctica Icebergs, Finally Solved

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Explorers and sailors have been reporting seeing some pretty strange icebergs in some Antarctica parts since back in 1900.

This strange phenomenon has been puzzling scientists since then, for over a century. Now, the Daily Mail reports that this mystery has finally been solved.

A new study sheds light in the mystery 

A brand new study claims that the green color is the result of the iron oxides in the rock dust from Antarctica’s mainland.

Experts have collected data during a 2016 voyage to the Amery Ice Shelf in East Antarctica.

They published the findings from their study ‘Green Icebergs Revisited’ in the Journal for Geophysical Research in January.

The Daily Mail writes that Scientists discovered large amounts of iron in the polar ice and theorized that ‘foreign constituents’ in seawater, particularly iron-oxide, can change its color.

‘Previously, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) had been proposed to be responsible for the green color,’ authors Stephen Warren, Collin Roesler, Richard Brandt, and Mark Curran explained in their findings.

‘Subsequent measurements of low DOC values in green icebergs, together with the recent finding of large concentrations of iron in marine ice from the Amery Ice Shelf, suggest that the color of green icebergs is caused more by iron‐oxide minerals than by DOC.’

Frozen seawater

The icebergs that are forming from glacier ice that breaks off from the Antarctic ice sheet can carry in them frozen seawater that has been collected at their base.

This frozen seawater is also known as marine ice, and it can contain organic and inorganic particles that can add some shades of green to the ice that usually comes in shades of white and blue as you know.

This green color usually becomes more visible when the icebergs occasionally capsize.

There’s another exciting thing involved in all of this. The phenomenon is not only interesting because of its beauty.

Marine ice contains iron carried by these glaciers, and this could help feed organisms as they’re floating deeper into the ocean.

Rada Mateescu

I have been blogging and posting articles for over eight years, but my passion for writing dates back in 2000. I am especially enthusiastic about technology, science, and health-related issues. When I’m not researching and writing the latest news, I’m either watching sci-fi and horror movies or checking out places worth visiting and building deep memories for later in life. I believe in empathy and continually improving myself.