IcebergsIcebergs are among Nature’s most beautiful and alluring phenomena. They range from mammoth tabular forms many tens of kilometres long, to “bergy bits” a few metres across or "growlers" which are so dense they are almost hidden under water. By far the greatest number is produced in Antarctica, and this is especially true in the Antarctic Peninsula as one-by-one the region’s ice shelves collapse. This collection of images comes from Rothera Point on Adelaide Island on the west side of the Peninsula. Many of these are grounded on the sea bottom, and display a huge range of forms and textures. A few additional photographs here were taken from the air near the site of the former Wordie Ice Shelf in Marguerite Bay. | |||
 Two tabular bergs in close contact, viewed from the air. They contain huge crevasses, bridged over by snow. The smooth white area surrounding them is winter sea ice, soon to break up. Marguerite Bay. |  Aerial view of grounded icebergs in North Cove, Rothera Point. |  Tabular iceberg showing a " chiselled" appearance from fresh calving from the vertical face; Rothera Point, with Pourquois Pas Island beyond. |  Grounded icebergs and bergy bits, mixed with sea ice; Rothera Point, with Pourquois Pas Island beyond. |
 A tabular berg in an advanced stage of decay with towers and arch rising from a common base, Rothera Point. |  The same berg a few weeks later, showing rotation and exposure of a former waterline, Rothera Point. |  Iceberg decay with reflections, Rothera Point. |  The rough surfaces of these grounded, decaying bergs is enhanced in this low evening light, Rothera Point. |
 Iceberg showing multiple tilted waterlines, exposed as the berg melts as a result of uneven melting, Rothera Point. |  Rough-textured grounded bergs and bergy bits provide a foreground for the ice-mantled mountains on Pourquoi Pas Island viewed from Rothera Point. |  Large towering iceberg grounded very close to the shore in North Cove, Rothera Point. |  A wisp of low mist amplifies the relief of the mountains of Pourquoi Pas Island, whilst scalloped bergs are grounded at Rothera Point. |
 Large berg grounded in shallow water with prominent buttress split by crevasses and uplifted waterline, Rothera Point. |  Iceberg with tower and arch catches the last light before sunset, Rothera Point. |  Heavily degraded iceberg with former tilted waterline. Rotation is also indicated by the bent icicles that fringe its top edge; Rothera Point. |  Decaying iceberg scoured by wind and sun, with snow drifts on the lee side and Wormald Ice Piedmont beyond, Rothera Point. |
 Decaying iceberg with large wave-cut cave, Rothera Point. |  Decaying tabular berg, with large blocks of ice on top ready to topple into the water, Rothera Point. |  Remnants of a berg with a layer of basal debris, showing that at some point before calving, the source glacier was wet-based; Rothera Point. |  An "ice obelisk" sitting on top of a grounded iceberg at Rothera Point. At some point the berg must have flipped over and captured this unusual feature. |
 The midnight sun sparkles behind a decaying iceberg, as one looks towards Leonie Island, Rothera Point. |  An overcast day enhances the blue and irregular texture of a group of grounded icebergs, Rothera Point. |  Icebergs of multiple shapes, sizes and textures, viewed from the hilltop above Rothera Point. |  Iceberg graveyard - jumble of icebergs, grounded on the sea bed in North Cove, Rothera Point. |
 A beautifully smoothed and rounded iceberg, flanked by others of rougher appearance, Rothera Point. |  A hint of violent winter storms – piles of bergy bits thrown up on land at Rothera Point. | ||
| All these were taken in November-December 2012 (MH). | |||