Australia Warns Ships About Iceberg

Industry told to watch out for 54-square-mile mass
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 11, 2009 2:28 PM CST
Australia Warns Ships About Iceberg
This image provided by Australian Antarctic Division shows a satellite view of the giant iceberg, fourth from right, which is moving towards Western Australia, according to a Tasmanian scientist.   (AP Photo/Australian Antarctic Division)

Australian authorities today warned ships to watch out for the 54-square-mile iceberg that’s slowly approaching the continent’s southwest coast. The once-in-a-century iceberg broke off the coast of Antarctica roughly a decade ago and has been creeping toward the land down under ever since. It's still about 1,000 miles away, so "it’s not really on our doorstep yet,” one glaciologist tells the AFP. “But it’s been heading steadily towards us.”

It’s been more than 100 years since the area saw an iceberg of this size, but the glaciologist said they could become more common if global temperatures keep rising. Recently two other large icebergs were spotted further to the east, and 100 smaller chunks were spotted headed for New Zealand. (More Australia stories.)

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