Editing Iceberg (section)

==Monitoring and control==

===History===
[[Image:Titanic iceberg.jpg|thumb|The [[Iceberg that struck the Titanic|iceberg suspected of sinking]] the [[RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic'']]; a smudge of red paint much like the ''Titanic''{{'s}} red hull stripe runs along its base at the waterline.]]

Prior to 1914 there was no system in place to track icebergs to guard ships against collisions{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} despite [[List of ships sunk by icebergs|fatal sinkings]] of ships by icebergs. In 1907, ''[[SS Kronprinz Wilhelm]]'', a German liner, rammed an iceberg and suffered a crushed bow, but she was still able to complete her voyage. The advent of [[Compartment (ship)|watertight compartmentalization]] in ship construction led designers to declare their ships "unsinkable".

During the [[sinking of the Titanic|1912 sinking of the ''Titanic'']], the [[iceberg that sank the Titanic]] killed more than 1,500 of its estimated 2,224 passengers and crew, seriously damaging the 'unsinkable' claim. For the remainder of the ice season of that year, the [[United States Navy]] patrolled the waters and monitored ice movements. In November 1913, the [[International Conference on the Safety of Life at Sea]] met in [[London]] to devise a more permanent system of observing icebergs. Within three months the participating maritime nations had formed the [[International Ice Patrol]] (IIP). The goal of the IIP was to collect data on [[meteorology]] and [[oceanography]] to measure currents, ice-flow, [[ocean temperature]], and salinity levels. They monitored iceberg dangers near the [[Grand Banks]] of Newfoundland and provided the "limits of all known ice" in that vicinity to the maritime community. The IIP published their first records in 1921, which allowed for a year-by-year comparison of iceberg movement.

===Technological development===
[[File:Burton Island, Atka, and Glacier push iceberg in McMurdo Sound (827218l).jpg|thumb|An iceberg being pushed by three [[U.S. Navy]] ships in [[McMurdo Sound]], Antarctica]]
Aerial surveillance of the seas in the early 1930s allowed for the development of charter systems that could accurately detail the ocean currents and iceberg locations. In 1945, experiments tested the effectiveness of [[radar]] in detecting icebergs. A decade later, oceanographic monitoring outposts were established for the purpose of collecting data; these outposts continue to serve in environmental study. A computer was first installed on a ship for the purpose of oceanographic monitoring in 1964, which allowed for a faster evaluation of data. By the 1970s, [[icebreaking|ice-breaking]] ships were equipped with automatic transmissions of [[satellite]] photographs of ice in Antarctica. Systems for optical satellites had been developed but were still limited by weather conditions. In the 1980s, drifting [[buoy]]s were used in Antarctic waters for oceanographic and [[climate research]]. They are equipped with sensors that measure ocean temperature and currents.

[[File:Singing iceberg.oga|thumb|Acoustic monitoring of an iceberg]]
[[Side looking airborne radar]] (SLAR) made it possible to acquire images regardless of weather conditions. On November 4, 1995, [[Canada]] launched [[RADARSAT-1]]. Developed by the [[Canadian Space Agency]], it provides images of Earth for scientific and commercial purposes. This system was the first to use [[synthetic aperture radar]] (SAR), which sends [[microwave]] energy to the ocean surface and records the reflections to track icebergs. The [[European Space Agency]] launched [[ENVISAT]] (an observation satellite that orbits the Earth's poles)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://earth.esa.int/web/guest/missions/esa-operational-eo-missions/envisat|title=Envisat|publisher=European Space Agency|access-date=2011-03-09}}</ref> on March 1, 2002. ENVISAT employs advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASAR) technology, which can detect changes in surface height accurately. The Canadian Space Agency launched [[RADARSAT-2]] in December 2007, which uses SAR and multi-polarization modes and follows the same [[orbit]] path as RADARSAT-1.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Canadian Geographic|author=Ainslie MacLellan|url=http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/MA06/indepth/technology_side2.asp|title=Tracking Monsters|date=2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061031234546/http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/ma06/indepth/technology.asp|archive-date=2006-10-31|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Modern monitoring===

Iceberg concentrations and size distributions are monitored worldwide by the U.S. [[National Ice Center]] (NIC), established in 1995, which produces analyses and forecasts of [[Arctic]], [[Antarctic Circle|Antarctic]], [[Great Lakes]] and [[Chesapeake Bay]] ice conditions. More than 95% of the data used in its sea ice analyses are derived from the remote sensors on polar-orbiting satellites that survey these remote regions of the Earth.
[[Image:Iceberg A22A, South Atlantic Ocean.jpg|thumb|Iceberg A22A in the South [[Atlantic Ocean]]]]
The NIC is the only organization that names and tracks all Antarctic Icebergs. It assigns each iceberg larger than {{convert|10|nmi|km}} along at least one axis a name composed of a letter indicating its point of origin and a running number. The letters used are as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xs4all.nl/~carlkop/ronne.html|publisher=NOAA|date=15 October 1998|title=New Iceberg Breaks off Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica|access-date=2011-03-09}}</ref>
:'''A''' &ndash; [[longitude]] 0° to 90°&nbsp;W ([[Bellingshausen Sea]], [[Weddell Sea]])
:'''B''' &ndash; longitude 90°&nbsp;W to 180° ([[Amundsen Sea]], Eastern [[Ross Sea]])
:'''C''' &ndash; longitude 90°&nbsp;E to 180° (Western Ross Sea, [[Wilkes Land]])
:'''D''' &ndash; longitude 0° to 90°&nbsp;E ([[Amery Ice Shelf]], Eastern Weddell Sea)

{{maplink|frame=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=550|from=Antarctic Iceberg.map|frame-latitude=-70|frame-longitude=0|zoom=1|text=Map of icebergs in the Antarctic as of 23 January 2025 (20 sqNM or greater, or 10 NM on its longest axis) ([[:c:Data:Antarctic Iceberg.map|map data]])
{{legend|red|A}}
{{legend|blue|B}}
{{legend|green|C}}
{{legend|yellow|D}}
}}

The [[Danish Meteorological Institute]] monitors iceberg populations around Greenland using data collected by the [[Synthetic-aperture radar|synthetic aperture radar]] (SAR) on the [[Sentinel-1A|Sentinel-1 satellites]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Icebergs: Polar Portal |url=http://polarportal.dk/en/sea-ice-and-icebergs/icebergs/ |website=polarportal.dk |access-date=28 January 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Iceberg management ===
In Labrador and Newfoundland, iceberg management plans have been developed to protect offshore installations from impacts with icebergs.<ref>[https://atlanticcanadaoffshore.ca/ice-management-newfoundland-labradors-offshore-industry/ Ice-management, Newfoundland Labrador offshore-industry]</ref>

=== Commercial use ===
The idea of towing large icebergs to other regions as a source of water has been raised since at least the 1950s, without having been put into practice.<ref name="abc"/> In 2017, a business from the [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]] announced plans to tow an iceberg from Antarctica to the Middle East; in 2019 salvage engineer [[Nick Sloane]] announced a plan to move one to South Africa<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maynard |first1=Matt |title=Iceberg towing: a bizarre 'solution' to the freshwater crisis |url=https://geographical.co.uk/science-environment/iceberg-towing-a-bizarre-solution-to-the-freshwater-crisis |access-date=15 January 2024 |work=Geographical |date=12 June 2022}}</ref> at an estimated cost of $200 million.<ref name="abc">{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-14/why-a-middle-eastern-business-cant-just-tow-antarctica-iceberg/11318638?nw=0|title = Why a Middle Eastern business thirsty for water can't just tow an iceberg from Antarctica|website = [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|date = 14 August 2019}}</ref> In 2019, a German company, Polewater, announced plans to tow Antarctic icebergs to places like South Africa.<ref name="Jacobs" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.polewater.com/?lang=en |title=Home Page |work=Polewater |author= |date= |accessdate=September 8, 2021}}</ref>

Companies have used iceberg water in products such as [[bottled water]], fizzy ice cubes and alcoholic drinks.<ref name="Jacobs">{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/10/iceberg-water-and-race-exploit-arctic/601147/ |title=$166 Water Could Dictate International Iceberg Law |work=[[The Atlantic]] |author=Matthew H. Birkhold |date=October 31, 2019 |accessdate=September 8, 2021}}</ref> For example, Iceberg Beer by [[Quidi Vidi Brewing Company]] is made from icebergs found around [[St. John's, Newfoundland]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/02/29/147581630/newfoundland-gives-whole-new-meaning-to-ice-cold-beer |title=Newfoundland Gives Whole New Meaning To Ice Cold Beer |work=[[Morning Edition]] |author=Emma Jacobs |date=February 29, 2012 |accessdate=September 8, 2021}}</ref> Although annual iceberg supply in [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] exceeds the total freshwater consumption of the United States, in 2016 the province introduced a tax on iceberg harvesting and imposed a limit on how much fresh water can be exported yearly.<ref name="Jacobs" />