The world’s largest feta cheese discovered in Greenland!

Disclaimer

Obviously it’s not feta cheese, but an iceberg that looks a lot like the type of cheese that you use in your Greek salads!

The world’s largest feta cheese iceberg has been on a journey around the coast of Greenland! It broke off the ice shelf in East Greenland, and because of the ocean currents, took what many might think is a strange route down, left and up when looking at the map! South from East Greenland, then west around South Greenland, and north up West Greenland.

This floating feta cheese is a tabular iceberg, more commonly seen in Antarctica. It’s so big that there are streams of water forming melt ponds and giving texture to the ice giant.

It has been spotted in Tasiilaq in East Greenland in July, and near Maniitsoq in West Greenland in September.

Every iceberg goes on an impressive journey. Once it breaks off into the sea, its route is driven by powerful forces like the Gulf Stream and the Atlantic conveyor system, a powerful invisible river which both pushes equatorial water north, and cooler, denser Arctic water south. In fact, it’s this system which is also a caretaker of our climate, spreading warmth and cool around the planet. Scientists are afraid that the Gulf Stream is slowing down, a crucial tipping point for climate change.

Where do we expect the world’s largest feta cheese to move from here? Icebergs eventually break up, but big ones like this will float south again towards Newfoundland Labrador and Iceberg Alley. Some might even end in the North Atlantic shipping lanes. This journey can take over three years to complete. So perhaps if you’re lucky, you might spot Greenland’s floating feta cheese on its journey there.

Video: supplied by Jesper Scharff Vinther, edited by Visit Greenland