The article Flipping icebergs, by Stephen Ornes was published April 3, 2012. the title basically sums up what this article is about, icebergs flipping over. When icebergs flip however, it causes huge commotion and can even release as much energy as an atomic bomb. in very cold areas like Greenland or Antarctica, glaciers can flow over the land and into the ocean. Where the edge of the glacier floats on water, it forms an ice shelf, A floating sheet of ice permanently attached to a landmass. An iceberg forms when part of the ice shelf cracks and breaks off. That’s when icebergs are more likely going to flip. An iceberg takes three or four minutes to flip, and after that it can send out large waves called tsunamis. It may even trigger an earthquake!
The main idea that the author is trying to convey is that these flips that the icebergs are doing is mixing up the water. It quotes "If a warm, salty layer of water is initially floating on a cold, freshwater layer, for example, a flipping iceberg can mix those layers and change the overall temperature and chemical makeup of the water." This could be bad for all of the creatures that live in the ocean, because that could really mess up their habitat. Another quote is "The melting rates of glaciers may depend on the temperature of the water, so scientists are interested in figuring out how flipping icebergs might change those rates." This can't be good if the flipping icebergs make the water temperature rise because that means the water level rises even quicker (because of global warming). Eventually we could be flooded by water.
The author is talking about a very serious and important topic. Earthquakes are the least of our problems when we know that we, or future generations, could be underwater if we don't do anything about it. I think we should alert people about what is going on, although, I don't think there is any way of stopping it. Either way, I'm glad I read the article.
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