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Discussion » Statements » Rosie's Corner » Can you estimate the size of an iceberg if you measure the tip or is it something that needs to be experienced...every inch of it?
RosieG

Can you estimate the size of an iceberg if you measure the tip or is it something that needs to be experienced...every inch of it?

Posted - November 29, 2019
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  • 10718
    Only 10% of an iceberg is above water.  The 90% that's below water can be of any size or shape.  Thus, icebergs are best "experienced" from afar.
      November 29, 2019 11:27 AM MST
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  • 113301
    Doesn't that 10% vary in size from iceberg to iceberg Shuhak? By that difference couldn't the total size be calculated? I don't know but it just seems so to me.Of course you can't tell the size of the body by just seeing the head in homo saps. Thank you for your reply! :)
      November 30, 2019 1:53 AM MST
    1

  • 10718
    Yes.   Because the densities of ice and sea water are so close in value, the ice floats “low” in the water.  This means that ice has nine-tenths, or 90 percent of water's density.  So 90 percent of the iceberg is below the water's surface. 
    Since icebergs are random pieces of an ice shelf, their size is rather random.

    I know of a formula for measuring the size, mass or volume of an iceberg (above and below water), although I'm sure such a formula exists.
      November 30, 2019 10:23 AM MST
    0