Delaware-Sized Iceberg Breaks Off Antarctica And Dumps Nearly 1 Trillion Tons Of Freshwater In The Ocean
That crack was seen around the globe. Delaware-sized iceberg breaks off Antarctica Peninsula in July 2017 after weeks of anticipation. Satellite imagery reveals that A68, the lone iceberg, broke up in the Southern Ocean. Researchers believe they have identified the decisive factors that led to the relationship's end.
Author:Suleman ShahReviewer:Han JuOct 27, 2022948 Shares316K Views
That crack was seen around the globe. Delaware-sized iceberg breaks off AntarcticaPeninsula in July 2017 after weeks of anticipation. Satellite imagery reveals that A68, the lone iceberg, broke up in the Southern Ocean. Researchers believe they have identified the decisive factors that led to the relationship's end.
Alex Huth, a polar scientist at Princeton University, and his colleagues used computer simulations of ocean currents and wind stress in conjunction with observations of the iceberg's drift. The team reported their findings on October 19 in ScienceAdvances. Iceberg A68a, the biggest piece of the original berg that is still around, was caught in a tug-of-war between two ocean currents, which probably broke it up.
A Big Iceberg
There is a new global iceberg, and its magnitude means that Antarctica charts will soon need to be updated. The Larsen-C ice shelf on the Antarctic peninsula has just lost a trillion tons of ice.
According to Project Midas, a UK-based research organization committed to studying the ice shelf, its overall area is about 2,240 square miles (roughly the size of the state of Delaware), and its volume, at 40 trillion cubic feet of ice, is twice that of Lake Erie.
No one should blame global warming for this, say the scientists who have predicted its arrival for months. This new iceberg will not contribute to rising sea levels since its ice was already present in the water. But there are worries about what might happen to the rest of the shelf's ice in the long run.
“„Although this is a natural event, and we’re not aware of any link to human-induced climate change, this puts the ice shelf in a very vulnerable position. This is the furthest back that the ice front has been in recorded history. We’re going to be watching very carefully for signs that the rest of the shelf is becoming unstable.- Martin O’Leary, a glaciologist on the Midas team, said
Although this is a natural phenomenon with no connection to human-caused climate change, it puts the ice shelf in a vulnerable position. Historically, this is the furthest back that the ice front has ever gone. We'll be keeping a close eye out for any further symptoms of instability on the shelf.
Larsen-C, which is over 19 thousand square miles in size, has been pulling away from the shelf since at least 2010. The crack's pace of propagation has increased considerably over the previous five years, from 33 feet per day to more than 120 miles. As of last Friday, the European Space Agency said the last three kilometers until separation was completed.
Impact of massive iceberg that broke off Antarctica
Final Words
The updated simulations provide speculation on A68a's ultimate demise. The long, thin "finger" at the iceberg's end dragged itself into a powerful, swift current on December 20, 2020. Most of the ice continued to drift away from the flow. Within a few days, the stress rifted the berg, and the finger snapped off and splintered apart. This resulted in Delaware-sized iceberg breaks off Antarctica.
The team claims that shear stress, which is not accounted for in climate predictions, is a previously undiscovered reason for the disintegration of massive icebergs. When bergs melt, large amounts of frigid freshwater may be released to the surface of the Southern Ocean. That could have bad effects on ocean currents and the climate of the whole planet.
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Suleman Shah
Author
Suleman Shah is a researcher and freelance writer. As a researcher, he has worked with MNS University of Agriculture, Multan (Pakistan) and Texas A & M University (USA). He regularly writes science articles and blogs for science news website immersse.com and open access publishers OA Publishing London and Scientific Times. He loves to keep himself updated on scientific developments and convert these developments into everyday language to update the readers about the developments in the scientific era. His primary research focus is Plant sciences, and he contributed to this field by publishing his research in scientific journals and presenting his work at many Conferences.
Shah graduated from the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (Pakistan) and started his professional carrier with Jaffer Agro Services and later with the Agriculture Department of the Government of Pakistan. His research interest compelled and attracted him to proceed with his carrier in Plant sciences research. So, he started his Ph.D. in Soil Science at MNS University of Agriculture Multan (Pakistan). Later, he started working as a visiting scholar with Texas A&M University (USA).
Shah’s experience with big Open Excess publishers like Springers, Frontiers, MDPI, etc., testified to his belief in Open Access as a barrier-removing mechanism between researchers and the readers of their research. Shah believes that Open Access is revolutionizing the publication process and benefitting research in all fields.
Han Ju
Reviewer
Hello! I'm Han Ju, the heart behind World Wide Journals. My life is a unique tapestry woven from the threads of news, spirituality, and science, enriched by melodies from my guitar. Raised amidst tales of the ancient and the arcane, I developed a keen eye for the stories that truly matter. Through my work, I seek to bridge the seen with the unseen, marrying the rigor of science with the depth of spirituality.
Each article at World Wide Journals is a piece of this ongoing quest, blending analysis with personal reflection. Whether exploring quantum frontiers or strumming chords under the stars, my aim is to inspire and provoke thought, inviting you into a world where every discovery is a note in the grand symphony of existence.
Welcome aboard this journey of insight and exploration, where curiosity leads and music guides.
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