Geschichte: The boat trip from Ilulissat to Qeqertarsuaq is incredible. At times you only see icebergs, and it is hard to imagine how the boat will find a way through. The boat clonks at smaller icebergs all the time, but surprisingly does not sink. The icebergs calve at the glacier and cover much of Disko bay. At times, they become so large that villages on the coast receive flood warnings in the case the icebergs break apart.
Geologie: Icebergs arise when glaciers calve – when big pieces of ice break off a glacier into water. Glaciers form when snow accumulation exceeds snow melting: fluffy snow gets burried by more snow and thereby compacted to solid ice. The ice then flows downstream as a glacier and can form icebergs if the glacier ends in water.