Alexis Denton, oceanographer and chief scientist with the International Ice Patrol, noted that several clues indicate it is an iceberg rather than thick, multi-year sea ice: its proximity to shore, its whiter color, and larger size compared to the surrounding sea ice. Measuring roughly 17 square kilometers (7 square miles) on June 12, the iceberg was about five times the area of New York City’s Central Park. That\u2019s modest compared to the behemoth bergs<\/a> that calve from Antarctic glaciers and ice shelves but large by Greenland standards.<\/p>\n Keld Quistgaard, a senior ice advisor with the Danish Meteorological Institute\u2019s Greenland Ice Service, noted that it originated in J\u00f8kelbugten\u2014a bay in northeastern Greenland. The berg\u2019s precise origin within that bay, however, remains something of a mystery. It\u2019s possible that the berg broke off from Zachari\u00e6 Isstr\u00f8m or its adjacent remnant ice shelf<\/a>. The ice shelf, which together with Zachari\u00e6 Isstr\u00f8m once filled the bay, was abandoned after the glacier rapidly retreated in the early 2000s. <\/p>\n Tracing its path back through satellite imagery is challenging. Through spring, the bay and surrounding coastal areas are choked with sea ice and berg fragments, making individual bergs hard to distinguish, especially if covered in bright snow. In late May, for instance, the berg was surrounded by numerous look-alikes<\/a>. Only later in the season, as it drifted farther south and the ice around it thinned out, did it become distinct enough to easily spot.<\/p>\n Its size and striking network of blue meltwater ponds offer some clues to its origin, according to Christopher Shuman, a retired University of Maryland glaciologist. Shuman thinks the berg broke from the remnant ice shelf rather than the glacier itself. Bergs calved from Zachari\u00e6 Isstr\u00f8m tend to be smaller<\/a>, he said. Also, the berg\u2019s surface\u2014pocked with meltwater ponds, “like Swiss cheese”\u2014closely resembles the remnant shelf ice. Past satellite images show pieces of that shelf ice drifting south and getting trapped among islands bordering the bay, where winds and tides have jostled them for years.<\/p>\n As of mid-August, the berg was about 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) from the bay, drifting south on the Greenland Coastal Current into the North Atlantic. Quistgaard expected the iceberg to gradually disintegrate throughout the month. Recent satellite imagery<\/a> suggested it was doing just that.<\/p>\n Breaking up in the Denmark Strait means that remnants of the berg are unlikely to drift into busier shipping lanes that go past the southern tip of Greenland. \u201cIts journey is a reminder of the dynamic Earth,\u201d Shuman said, \u201cas well as the seasonal variability of the ice in this part of the North Atlantic.\u201d<\/p>\n NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the\u00a0U.S. Geological Survey<\/a>.\u00a0Story by Kathryn Hansen.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/greenlandberg_oli2_20260612_lrg.jpg\")
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