homehome Home chatchat Notifications


No Photoshop involved: this iceberg really is almost perfectly rectangular

It's as if someone cut it with a knife.

Mihai Andrei
October 22, 2018 @ 4:33 pm

share Share

Nature is often chaotic, messy, and beautifully unpredictable — but this iceberg seems set to defy all that.

Image credits: NASA.

An object of near-geometric beauty lies in the middle of the chaotic crowd of floating ice — this is what NASA photographed last week in Antarctica, during a project called Operation Ice Bridge. It almost looks too perfect, and straight, as if cut with a godly knife, but there’s no magic here, and definitely no Photoshop.

Icy lines

In order to be classified as an iceberg, an object needs to stand at least 16 feet (5 meters) above sea level and have a thickness between 98-164 feet (30-50 meters). Its ice must cover an area of at least 5,382 square feet (500 square meters). The definitions are set in the metric system, which is why they look so much neater in meters than in feet. But anyway — we tend to think of icebergs as chunky, pointy bits of ice, but that’s not always the case. There are two types of icebergs: non-tabular and tabular. As the name suggests, the former have irregular shapes, whereas the latter have more regular shapes and a flat top. The particular iceberg depicted above represents a remarkably tabular example.

Straight, geometric edges aren’t that uncommon in tabular icebergs, as they tend to calve along a single crack, which can be quite straight. The iceberg’s sharp angles and flat surface indicate that it probably recently calved from the ice shelf, NASA’s tweet explains. As more time passes, its beautiful straight edges will likely start to get eroded by wind and water, or start cracking and forming smaller icebergs. Also, we don’t know what the other end of the iceberg looked like, as it’s not in the photo — there’s a good chance it wasn’t nearly as straight.

We also don’t know how big the iceberg is, because there’s no good reference in the photo. However, like all icebergs, we can expect some 90% of its mass to lie underwater.

However, nature is sometimes stunningly ordered and linear — a notable example is in crystallography.

Beautifully rectangular

Perfectly cubic pyrite crystals on marlstone. Image credits: Carles Millan.

There are several types of crystal systems, based on the structure of their atomic lattice, which can repeat indefinitely. In the cubic system, crystals can look particularly smooth and regular — almost as if they were cut with a knife. Pyrite is a very good example of this, and salt (halite) is another.

The iceberg above, like pyrite crystals, are intriguing reminders that nature can work in all shapes and sizes — from the microscopic to the planetary, from complete order to complete chaos.

For more stunning photos of ice and icebergs, be sure to follow NASA ICE on Twitter.

share Share

Gardening Really Is Good for You, Science Confirms

Gardening might do more for your health than you think.

The surprising health problem surging in over 50s: sexually transmitted infections

Doctors often don't ask older patients about sex. But as STI cases rise among older adults, both awareness and the question need to be raised.

Kids Are Swallowing Fewer Coins and It Might Be Because of Rising Cashless Payments

The decline of cash has coincided with fewer surgeries for children swallowing coins.

Horses Have a Genetic Glitch That Turned Them Into Super Athletes

This one gene mutation helped horses evolve unmatched endurance.

Scientists Discover Natural Antibiotics Hidden in Our Cells

The proteasome was thought to be just a protein-recycler. Turns out, it can also kill bacteria

Future Windows Could Be Made of Wood, Rice, and Egg Whites

Simple materials could turn wood into a greener glass alternative.

Researchers Turn 'Moon Dust' Into Solar Panels That Could Power Future Space Cities

"Moonglass" could one day keep the lights on.

Ford Pinto used to be the classic example of a dangerous car. The Cybertruck is worse

Is the Cybertruck bound to be worse than the infamous Pinto?

Archaeologists Find Neanderthal Stone Tool Technology in China

A surprising cache of stone tools unearthed in China closely resembles Neanderthal tech from Ice Age Europe.

A Software Engineer Created a PDF Bigger Than the Universe and Yes It's Real

Forget country-sized PDFs — someone just made one bigger than the universe.