Huge Iceberg Breaks off Greenland’s Petermann Glacier - UNEP Global Environmental Alert Service (GEAS) December 2010

Glaciers are naturally dynamic, slowly changing in shape and size as they move. When a glacier enters the sea, new icebergs form as pieces break off, or calve, from the glacier. How much calving occurs depends on the glacier's growth rate, determined by the amount of new snow and the speed at which it moves and melts. Studies on changes in glacier calving are important pieces of information in helping determine the impacts of climate change.