National Ice Center confirms new antarctic iceberg (Forwarded)

NOAA Public Affairs
U.S. Department of Commerce
Washington, D.C.

Media Contact:
John Leslie, NOAA Satellite and Information Service
(301) 457-5005

March 24, 2006

NATIONAL ICE CENTER CONFIRMS NEW ANTARCTIC ICEBERG

An iceberg about the size of Martha's Vineyard broke off from the Fimbul
Ice Shelf, a large glacial ice sheet, located along the northwestern
section of Queen Maud Land, in the eastern Weddell Sea near Antarctica.
(Click satellite image for larger view of iceberg D-16 taken on March 16,
2006, at 1:32 a.m. EST. Click here for high resolution version. Please
credit "DMSP.")

The National Ice Center, using visible satellite imagery from the Defense
Meteorological Satellite Program, announced the discovery after it spotted
the iceberg, named D-16, break off.

Currently, D-16, which measures 15 nautical miles on its longest axis and
8 nautical miles on its widest axis, is located 69 22' 48" South and 0 12'
0" East.

Iceberg names are derived from the Antarctic quadrant where they are first
sighted. When they are first observed, the National Ice Center documents
an iceberg's point of origin. The iceberg is assigned the letter of the
quadrant, along with the sequential number.

Based in Suitland, Md., the National Ice Center is a tri-agency
operational center represented by NOAA, which is part of the U.S.
Department of Commerce, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. The NIC's
mission is to provide worldwide operational ice analyses for the armed
forces of the United States and allied nations, U.S. government agencies
and private shipping and oil industries.

NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is dedicated to
enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and
research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental
stewardship of the nation's coastal and marine resources.

Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS),
NOAA is working with its federal partners and nearly 60 countries to
develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it
observes.

Relevant Web Sites:

* National Ice Center
http://www.natice.noaa.gov/

IMAGE CAPTION:
[http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories...2006-0632z.jpg
(306KB)]
Iceberg D-16 taken on March 16, 2006, at 1:32 a.m. EST. Please credit
"DMSP."