?Ice Island? likely to reach Atlantic

æIce IslandÆ likely to reach Atlantic    A University of Delaware researcher reports that an 'ice island' four times the size of Manhattan has calved from Greenland’s Petermann Glacier. The last time the Arctic lost such a large chunk of ice was in 1962.
   The new iceberg has an area of at least 100 square miles and a thickness up to half the height of the Empire State Building.
   The ice island will enter Nares Strait, a deep waterway between northern Greenland and Canada where it may become land-fast, block the channel, or it may break into smaller pieces as it is propelled south by the prevailing ocean currents, said Andreas Muenchow, associate professor of physical ocean science and engineering at Delaware. 'From there, it will likely follow along the coasts of Baffin Island and Labrador, to reach the Atlantic within the next two years.'
   The Montreal Gazette noted it will “eventually track a route south, toward Canadian shipping lanes along the Baffin Island and Newfoundland coasts as do most icebergs calved from Greenland’s shoreline glaciers — including the one that struck and sank the Titanic in 1912.”