What is glacier calving?

Glacier calving is when large chunks of ice break off the ends of glaciers into the water, becoming icebergs. Glaciers flow slowly, and their motion makes their leading ends unstable and causes calving. The resulting icebergs can be very large, with one observed to be the size of Rhode Island.

The appearance of an iceberg depends on the glacier it came from and the part of the glacier where it originated. White icebergs have many tiny air bubbles in them. Blue icebergs do not have the air bubbles and are much denser. Greenish-black icebergs calved off the bottom of glaciers.