Small icebergs and iceberg fragments off newfoundland: Relationships to deterioration mechanisms and the regional iceberg population

Abstract

Several sets of previously compiled data on iceberg size distributions in areas between North America and Greenland are compared and analyzed. The obtained results indicate that populations of icebergs with lengths L ≥ 20 m are well-described by log-normal and gamma distributions together with statistical parameters which are compatible with existing understanding of regional iceberg deterioration and change processes. A lesser amount of data on size distributions in Newfoundland icebergs with L < 20 m show occurrence probabilities which increase exponentially with decreasing iceberg length. Evidence is presented to show that these data are most consistent with the dominance of fracture processes in determining iceberg occurrence versus length relationships. Physical arguments are presented to suggest that the key fracture events are initiated in the larger icebergs by coincidences of wave-generated bending stress maxima and randomly distributed structural flaws. Similar considerations and use of a simple sequential fracture model imply that size distributions in icebergs (and iceberg fragments) with L < 20 m are more consistent with the presence of an alternative, spontaneous failure mechanism also acting at randomly distributed structural defects. The implications of these results for forecasting and monitoring populations of small icebergs are discussed. © 1996 Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society.