Icebergs in our waters for the first time since 1948

If you've got a sinking feeling about summer here's more proof -- icebergs have been spotted in New Zealand waters for the first time since 1948.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) said today clusters of icebergs had been seen in the Southern Ocean east of Campbell Island, 700km southeast of the South Island.

Niwa scientist Dr Lionel Carter said 15 icebergs, some up to 3km wide, were recorded in a single sighting just before Christmas.

"In 30 years of working for Niwa, this is the first time I have recorded sightings of icebergs in New Zealand waters," he told NZPA.

Previous reportings were in the 1890s, early 1920s, 1930s and in 1948.

In 1892 icebergs were reported as far north as Chatham Rise and in 1931 near Dunedin.

Dr Carter said the icebergs may have been generated by large break-ups of the vast ice shelves in the Ross Sea and Weddel Sea in recent years.

Cloudy conditions had prevented satellite tracking and recording of the icebergs and Niwa had relied on visual confirmation. The icebergs were expected to drift away towards South America.

There was a gap in official records, but he believed it was the first time icebergs had been recorded since 1948.

The icebergs were much bigger. They were melting as they drifted further away from Antarctica and into warmer waters -- that's anything over about 8degC.

"But if a strong southerly picks up they will drift towards Chatham Islands area," Dr Carter said.

He said it was too soon to blame this flotilla of ice on global warming.

However, the coincidence of large collapses of the Antarctic ice shelves with a rapidly changing climate could not be dismissed, which was why considerable effort was going into identifying the causes of ice shelf collapse and its downstream effects on global ocean and climate.

"The presence of the icebergs shows how intimately we are tied to Antarctica," Dr Carter said.

The most northerly iceberg was seen 240km southwest of Antipodes Island, 1030km southeast of Port Chalmers.

- NZPA