For Iceberg Lovers Everywhere

As I mentioned in my last post we are going to Newfoundland this summer and one of the things I'm really looking forward to is seeing icebergs.  I have been reading about them, Googling them, and generally developing a full on iceberg infatuation. 

Anyone else keen on icebergs?  No, eh?  Well just in case you want a new addiction, here are the websites I check daily (and I do mean daily):

The Iceberg Finder is a website run by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador tourism department and tracks icebergs both by satellite and by reports from people living in the area.

Iceberg Finder

The ice chart (below) is put out daily by the government of Canada and is used for shipping ( ... and iceberg addicts).  Do you see the red areas - that means those stretches of ocean still have 90-100% sea ice.  The screen shot I took was from yesterday, so yes, there is still a lot of ice around Newfoundland.  There are icebergs embedded in the sea ice which helps to keep the icebergs from melting and being broken apart.   If you feel you have had a cool spring where you live, you need to pause for a moment and think on the hardy Newfoundlander who is living beside an ocean full of ice cubes.   

By the way, do you know the difference between icebergs and sea ice.  I didn't.  Icebergs are chunks of frozen fresh water that have drifted down from the glaciers in Greenland, while sea ice is frozen salt water that formed over the past winter. 

Government of Canada Ice Chart

The webcam from Forteau Bay is from Labrador which is across the straight from Newfoundland, but the weather is close to where we are going so I check it out daily.  At the end of the day you can watch a time-lapse video of the days weather, ocean tides, and until recently the ice.  If you go on soon you can see the ice bobbing around the bay in the videos from earlier this week.

Forteau Bay Webcam

And I Google for any news about icebergs and find articles like this:

The Telegram, May 24, 2014

And one of my favourite Newfoundland blogs is called Newfoundsander.  He takes amazing photos of wildlife, scenery, and ... icebergs.

Newfoundsander

So there you have it.  My full and complete description of iceberg info.  I can't wait to see some of my own.