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The Antarctic Coastal Current is a mainly westward flow near the Antarctic coast. It can transport icebergs along the continental margin; coastal geometry, winds and regional circulation make trajectories variable.

For a vertical-sided floating iceberg of height $H$, Archimedes' principle equates displaced water mass to ice mass. Its draft is ${\rho }_w^{-1}{\int }_0^H{\rho }_i(z)dz$ and its freeboard is the remaining height above water. A depth-dependent mass density must be integrated; using the densest layer throughout overestimates the draft.

For an initially cold iceberg, melting to liquid at temperature $T_m$ requires both latent heat of fusion $L_f$ and sensible warming determined by the ice specific heat capacity $c_i$. Spatial mass density and temperature profiles determine their mass-weighted integrals. Additional warming of the meltwater requires a separate heat contribution.

An iceberg moving toward the equator carries a thermal deficit into warmer water. Melting extracts heat there, equivalent to transport of heat toward the pole. For an annual number of similar bergs, multiply their individual iceberg melt heat budget by the rate per second. Freshwater effects on density stratification and ocean circulation are separate from this heat accounting.