Capsizing icebergs release earthquake-sized energies
Friday, March 2, 2012 - 10:00
in Earth & Climate
A large iceberg can carry a large amount of gravitational potential energy. While all icebergs float with the bulk of their mass submerged beneath the water's surface, some drift around with precarious orientations-they are temporarily stable, but an outside push would send them tumbling over. Large icebergs, like those that split from the Jakobshavn Isbrae glacier in Greenland, can release the energy equivalent to a magnitude 6 or 7 earthquake when they capsize.