5 Nov 06 - A flotilla of 100 icebergs drifting towards New Zealand
could come within a few kilometres of the coast, says Dr. Paul Augustinus,
Auckland University glacial geomorphology lecturer. The icebergs are
currently 260km (156 miles) from the coast and up to 2km (1.2 miles)
long.
The major icebergs in the group are more than one kilometre deep.
(More than half-a-mile thick!)
Mike Williams, physical oceanographer at the National Institute of
Water
and Atmospheric Research, said the icebergs would most likely come
within
50km (30 miles) of the coast.
Williams said the icebergs could present a major hazard to shipping in
the
area, and sea captains would have to be in constant contact with
Maritime
New Zealand. "If you got near one of those groups, it could be quite
a
hazard."
And they're lucky anyone knew about them at all. The icebergs were
overlooked by scientists, and it wasn't until a fishing boat reported
them
five days ago that anyone knew about them.
See more of this article from the New Zealand Herald :
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/search/story.cfm?storyid=0002A8BB-6E19-154C-AC8783027AF1010E
Thanks to Pat Donley in New Zealand for this info
See also
Another iceberg sighting -12
Nov 06
See Another New Zealand Iceberg
