jade berg

n. an iceberg made of highly compressed greenish ice. Subjects: English, Environment

Editorial Note: Great photos of jade bergs can be found here, here, and here.

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Citations: 1998 Ingrid Mc Gaughey @ Antarctica Ingrid On Ice (Australia) (July 19): There’s one berg, quite small and grounded only a short distance from the hut that really takes the cake. Called the “Jade Berg’ by most of us it has a varied and unusual colouring. Most of it is this rich translucent green but there are chunks of smoky brown (due to the presence of mud and stones), opaque bottle greens and delicate grey-greens interspersed. The effect, especially with the tracery of snow decorating it is startling. It’s the first really green berg I’ve seen, although there are supposed to be some up around Colbeck, about 80 kilometres to the west of Mawson. 2003 Stephen Eastaugh @ Antarctic Everysomewherever (Australia) (Jan. 8): Much of the sea ice has melted in the bay so we were able yesterday to make a Zodiac boat trip out to Iceberg Alley where we hunted for a jade berg amongst the thousands of huge white gems floating about in the dark Antarctic sea. 2005 Margot Foster ABC Rural (Australia) (Mar. 3) “Listening to Antartica”: On the bridge this morning Tim the second mate spotted a “jade” berg. These are quite rare and distinctive for their opaque jade colour. This one was smallish and rounded like river stone. While no one is really sure, there is a theory that jade icebergs are formed on the bottom of the ice shelf where fresh water with algae in it has gathered and this causes them to go that colour. 2005 Andra Jackson The Age (Autstralia) (Apr. 20) “Sounds of silence form symphony of infinity”: Ms Evans used a video camera to record some of the sights she hopes to reflect in her music, such as the drifting icebergs that were like “outposts at the end of the world,” the beauty of a “jade berg” (iceberg) and an aurora that she described as “a freak of light.” 2006 Judy Kelly ABC Tropical Queensland (Australia) (Apr. 4) “Sid of the Antarctic”: A brand new berg tends to be white in colour and as they age or depending on where they come from, they change colours and some of them end up what’s known as jadebergs—a beautiful jade green colour. They can have bands of vivid green and vivid white flowing through them—they’re really quite spectacular.

Posted 12 Apr 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend