The Daily BuzzIceberg-watchers flocking to East Coast for record number of massive floes
Icebergs are so hot right now.
It's been "a banner year" for icebergs off Newfoundland, drawing tourists east and sparking interest in the towering walls of ice online.
"Folks are coming from all over the world. They're just totally intrigued with icebergs," Captain Barry Rogers, president of Iceberg Quest Ocean Tours, told the Canadian Press.
"I guess it's one thing to hear about them and yet it’s a totally different thing to be up within several hundred feet of them."
"We've had some great ice years, but I think this one is going to be the biggest year of all. We’ve just had a huge flow of icebergs coming from Greenland," he added.
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The Facebook page Newfoundland Iceberg Sightings has been sharing user-submitted photos of some of the awe-inspiring glacial structures.
[insert Facebook photos]
On Twitter, Iceberg Finder shares facts, locations and videos of icebergs as they travel along Newfoundland and Labrador's northeast coast with its more than 6,500 followers.
Other Twitter users are also posting their photos of iceberg sightings.
Awesome! “@TelyphotoGosse: A Cougar helicopter hovers over the monster iceberg just out side the St. John's narrows pic.twitter.com/RJMMs9TngG”
— NL Classifieds (@NLClassifieds) June 13, 2014
Now that's a shot! "@7Nipper7: Thanks @MGPECE for her photos of the massive iceberg currently in the Narrows, NL ! pic.twitter.com/v1UrPU0BLl" — FoundinNewfoundland (@FoundinNL) June 14, 2014
Iceberg in the Narrows. Lovely sight in downtown St. John's pic.twitter.com/5QTEqRumDx
— David Cochrane (@CochraneCBCNL) June 13, 2014
Iceberg under the moon light at Fort Amherst. Cool, clear night. Great for photos. #iceberg #newfoundland #nlwx pic.twitter.com/KJ4w8jeiXB — Kurtis Billard (@KCBillard) June 14, 2014
Its a record year for icebergs in NL! Unreal! RT @NLtweets: What a high rise looks like in Fogo Island & Salvage! pic.twitter.com/qW8DckGl6j
— Canada (@ExploreCanada) June 5, 2014
Trudy Wohlleben, a senior ice forecaster for the Canadian Ice Service, said the long trail of icebergs extending down the Labrador coast is the most they've seen since 2003 — and it's not clear why.
"Climate has many aspects to it," Wohlleben told the Canadian Press. "Whether it’s natural variability or it’s part of a longer term trend, it's a little difficult to say."
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"I think it has to do with the harshness of the winter," Stephen Bruneau, iceberg expert and Memorial University associate professor, told Canada AM last week. "We had more sea ice around, and when we have more sea ice, there tends to be a preservation of the icebergs."
Experts expect to see icebergs off Newfoundland's coast for at least the next several weeks.
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