You never forget the first time you see an iceberg. The horizon of a ship at sea is a two dimensional space and to see a three dimensional piece of ice appear in the ocean is quite something. But, in truth, the first iceberg you see is likely to be small. Most icebergs that make it far enough north from Antarctica to where they are a danger to shipping are sometimes many years old and at the end of their lives. They are small fragments of what once left the continent.
Once in a while, however, a monster breaks free from the edge of Antarctica and drifts away. About 12 miles long these bergs can tower perhaps 100 meters (over 300 feet) above the sea and reach several hundred more below the surface. These are called tabular icebergs—and while it is rare for humans to see something on such a scale they are part of the normal cycle of glacial ice in Antarctica.
