Latest news with #LabradorCoast
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Black iceberg spotted off Labrador could be result of an asteroid strike
A rare black iceberg photographed off the coast of Labrador has been making the rounds of social media on this planet, but its unusual colour could be the result of it carrying material from another world. The picture first surfaced last month after a fish harvester from Carbonear, N.L., took a photo of it while fishing for shrimp last month. Hallur Antoniussen, 64, was working aboard the Saputi, a factory freezer trawler operated by the Qikiqtaaluk Fisheries Corporation, off the coast of Labrador in mid-May, when he spotted the black berg. 'I have seen icebergs that are rolled, what they say have rolled in the beach with some rocks in it,' he told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning show. 'This one here is completely different. It's not only that he is all black. He is almost … in a diamond shape.' He took his picture from about six kilometres away, estimating the size of the visible portion at about three times that of a bungalow home. That would mean a submerged portion equal to about 27 more bungalows. 'It's something you don't see very often, and a camera is not something I run around (with) when I'm working,' Antoniussen told the CBC. 'So I just ran to my room and took my phone and snapped this picture.' Comments peppered his Facebook post, suggesting that the colour was toxic gas trapped in ice, or perhaps a rare mineral. Once the photo began circulating more widely — news organizations in Britain, Israel, India, Italy and elsewhere have written about it — the theories grew wilder. A story Monday in Vice magazine opened with the headline: 'That Ominous Black Iceberg Probably Isn't a Sign From the Aliens,' clearly not willing to rule out extraterrestrials entirely. But the truth could actually be in a similar vein. Dr. Lev Tarasov, a Memorial University physicist and glacial earth systems modeller, told the CBC that the berg's hue likely came from the glacier from which it calved picking up rocks and dirt on its way to the sea. 'There's parts of the ice that are actually flowing up to 20 kilometres per year, which would mean that … the ice is moving maybe a few metres every hour,' he said. They pick up rocks and dirt along the way. Some of that debris could have come from volcanic ash from an eruption in Greenland or Iceland. And some could have come from outer space. Back in 2018, scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks using ice-penetrating radar discovered a 31-kilometre impact crater in northwestern Greenland, formed by an asteroid strike. It would have been relatively recent in geological terms, perhaps 11,000 years ago, or as far back as a few million. Tarasov estimated some some of the ice in the berg is at least 1,000 years old, but that it could be much more ancient, perhaps as old as 100,000 years. Either way, the dirt that gives it its colour probably hasn't seen the 'light of day for hundreds of thousands of years.' Icebergs are generally paler in colour, and Antoniussen's picture handily contains a more normal specimen off to one side. Most icebergs look white because they contain tiny air bubbles and ice-crystal edges that reflect all wavelengths of visible light. There are others that look blue or even green, but black is out-of-this-world rare. More great whites are visiting N.S. beaches. Is it time for a shark warning system like Cape Cod's? Calgary researchers discover that life has a literal glow Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here.
National Post
4 days ago
- Science
- National Post
Black iceberg spotted off Labrador could be result of an asteroid strike
A rare black iceberg photographed off the coast of Labrador has been making the rounds of social media on this planet, but its unusual colour could be the result of it carrying material from another world. Article content The picture first surfaced last month after a fish harvester from Carbonear, N.L., took a photo of it while fishing for shrimp last month. Article content Article content Hallur Antoniussen, 64, was working aboard the Saputi, a factory freezer trawler operated by the Qikiqtaaluk Fisheries Corporation, off the coast of Labrador in mid-May, when he spotted the black berg. Article content Article content 'I have seen icebergs that are rolled, what they say have rolled in the beach with some rocks in it,' he told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning show. 'This one here is completely different. It's not only that he is all black. He is almost … in a diamond shape.' Article content Article content He took his picture from about six kilometres away, estimating the size of the visible portion at about three times that of a bungalow home. That would mean a submerged portion equal to about 27 more bungalows. Article content 'It's something you don't see very often, and a camera is not something I run around (with) when I'm working,' Antoniussen told the CBC. 'So I just ran to my room and took my phone and snapped this picture.' Article content Comments peppered his Facebook post, suggesting that the colour was toxic gas trapped in ice, or perhaps a rare mineral. Once the photo began circulating more widely — news organizations in Britain, Israel, India, Italy and elsewhere have written about it — the theories grew wilder. Article content A story Monday in Vice magazine opened with the headline: 'That Ominous Black Iceberg Probably Isn't a Sign From the Aliens,' clearly not willing to rule out extraterrestrials entirely. Article content Article content But the truth could actually be in a similar vein. Dr. Lev Tarasov, a Memorial University physicist and glacial earth systems modeller, told the CBC that the berg's hue likely came from the glacier from which it calved picking up rocks and dirt on its way to the sea. Article content Article content 'There's parts of the ice that are actually flowing up to 20 kilometres per year, which would mean that … the ice is moving maybe a few metres every hour,' he said. Article content They pick up rocks and dirt along the way. Some of that debris could have come from volcanic ash from an eruption in Greenland or Iceland. And some could have come from outer space. Article content Back in 2018, scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks using ice-penetrating radar discovered a 31-kilometre impact crater in northwestern Greenland, formed by an asteroid strike. It would have been relatively recent in geological terms, perhaps 11,000 years ago, or as far back as a few million. Article content Tarasov estimated some some of the ice in the berg is at least 1,000 years old, but that it could be much more ancient, perhaps as old as 100,000 years. Either way, the dirt that gives it its colour probably hasn't seen the 'light of day for hundreds of thousands of years.'
CBC
07-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Bell pulls out of deal to bring high-speed Internet to northern Labrador
End of project means continued connectivity issues, Mushau Innu Nation chief says Bell Canada has pulled out of an agreement that would have brought high-speed Internet and cell service to the north coast of Labrador, citing ballooning costs and challenging geography. "We were pretty shocked, cause we were waiting for this to happen for a long time," John Nui, Mushuau Innu First Nation Chief, told CBC Radio's On the Go. "They said it wouldn't be viable to have it in our regions." The agreement, known as the Labrador North Wireless Broadband Project, was first announced in March 2022. It brought a $22-million investment from the federal government at the time for Bell to bring high-speed Internet to more than 1,000 households in Nain, Natuashish, Hopedale, Makkovik, Postville and Rigolet. A month before the announcement, the federal and provincial governments had announced $116-million of funding was available through the Universal Broadband Fund, with the province making $20-million available. Costs had grown by August 2023, which prompted the federal government to add an additional $10-million to its investment. In a news release on Tuesday, the Nunatsiavut Government says it had learned the cost to complete the project had ballooned to $110 million. "This decision is a significant setback for Labrador Inuit communities, as well as the Mushuau Innu First Nation," David Dicker Jr., minister of finance, human resources and information technology with the Nunatsiavut Government, told CBC Tuesday. "High-speed telecommunications are not a luxury, but rather, a necessity." CBC News asked Bell Canada for an interview. In an emailed statement, senior communications manager Geoff Higdon says a cost increase of 340 per cent over four years made the project unviable. "Due to unsustainable cost increases … and significant logistical hurdles presented by the challenging geography, Bell has made the difficult decision to withdraw from the planned fixed wireless network project," Higdon wrote. "Bell will ensure the conclusion of all ongoing project work and facilitate the transition in accordance with the agreement's terms." Nui says there doesn't seem to be a place where negotiations could resume, calling the deal "dead in the water." It hurts a region where connectivity is sorely needed, he says. "The cell service would have been very good, you know, because you can reach others when they're out of their homes. Right now, you can only reach us where there is wi-fi, and there [are] a lot of places that we don't, you know, have Internet service," Nui said. Nui added he hopes the parties involved can find other options to help bring a reliable Internet and cellular connection to northern Labrador in the future.
