GREENBELT, Md., Jan. 10 (UPI) -- An iceberg the size of Long Island, N.Y., is about to collide with another giant block of floating ice in the Antarctic, U.S. scientists reported Monday.
Scientists are using NASA satellites to track a massive iceberg moving on a collision course with a floating glacier near the McMurdo Research Station. The 100-mile-long B-15A iceberg is headed for the Drygalski Ice Tongue and the two masses are expected to collide no later than Saturday.
"It's a clash of the titans, a radical and uncommon event," said Robert Bindshadler, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
The collision actually could help both penguins and ships reach the open sea more easily, scientists said. Penguins must now swim great distances to reach open waters and food. Adult penguins may not be able to make the trip and return with food for their young. After the collision, the ice tongue actually might collapse, opening a lane to the sea.
