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One of up to 50 icebergs on their way to New Zealand - Source: ONE News -
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There is a warning in place for ships in the southern ocean to watch out for ice on the move.
What was first believed to be just one massive iceberg has become as many as 50, with some already being spotted in New Zealand waters.
NIWA's Mike Williams says, in some ways, the breaking up of the iceberg makes it easier to track.
"Because now we're looking for a clump of icebergs," he says.
The floating ice is now just four kilometres south of the country, and in just over a week they have crossed the Australia-New Zealand Maritime border, indicating to NIWA scientists that they are heading New Zealand's way.
"Think of the Antactic Circum Polar Current (the ACC) as like a big motorway that transports water through the southern ocean... the icebergs have pretty much come off one of those ramps and into the New Zealand region," Williams says.
If the icebergs do come up the Otago coast line, they will interrupt fishing trawlers, cruise liners, and logging ships, which has prompted a warning from maritime official Nigel Clifford.
"Just because you can see it doesn't mean you're safe. There are potentially significant hazards under the water," Clifford says.
The icebergs are said to be travelling up to two kilometres per hour.
