![]() ![]() Adrian Luckman added that the ice shelf could regrow slowly or more calving could lead to its breaking off. Scientists will be watching the rest of the shelf for any signs of it becoming unstable. “At this point it would be premature to say that this was caused by global warming,” she said. He said, “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.”Īnna Hogg, with the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at the University of Leeds, says there is not the evidence yet to say it is caused by climate change. Martin O’Leary is a glacier expert at Swansea University and a member of the MIDAS project team. Other parts may drift, or slowly move north into warmer waters. They say that some of the ice may stay nearby for decades. The researchers suggest it is likely to break into pieces. According to NASA, IceBridge scientists measured the Larsen C fracture to be about 70 miles long, more than 300 feet wide 10, 2016 aerial photo released by NASA, shows a rift in the Antarctic Peninsula's Larsen C ice shelf. So, now what is going to happen to the iceberg?įILE - This Nov. They use a combination of fieldwork, satellite observation and computer models. The project is investigating the effects of a warming climate. The researchers said because it was already floating before it broke off, “there is no immediate impact on sea level.” This event leaves the Larsen C ice shelf smaller by more than 12%, and “the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula changed forever.” For years now, researchers from the British-based Antarctic project, MIDAS, have been monitoring the rift in Larsen C. The Larsen A shelf broke off in 1995 and the Larsen B fell in 2002. This is not the first time parts of the Larsen ice shelf have broken off the frozen continent. The final break was first seen in an image from NASA’s Aqua MODIS satellite instrument. So have many people around the world who saw pictures of the large crack in the ice. ![]() space agency NASA, and European Space Agency satellites have been watching the shelf. Map showing the rift in the Larsen C ice shelf that led to the calving of an iceberg on the Antarctic Peninsula. “We will continue to monitor both the impact of this calving event on the Larsen C ice shelf, and the fate of this huge iceberg.” “We have been anticipating this event for months, and have been surprised how long it took for the rift to break through the final few kilometers of ice,” said Adrian Luckman of Swansea University and MIDAS. While its breaking off into the water was not a surprise, the timing was. For months they have kept their eyes- and satellites - on a large crack, or break, in this section of the Larsen ice shelf. Researchers are watching closely to see whether climate change is affecting the calving process. The process of the ice breaking away and moving into the ocean is known as calving. The area is connected to land, but floats on seawater instead of sitting on top of the continent. The Larsen ice shelf is located off the coast of northwestern Antarctica. It broke off from the Larsen C ice shelf over the last few days. Scientists at the University of Swansea in Britain described the iceberg as one of the largest ever recorded. That is about the same volume as the great Lake Erie between Canada and the U.S. It is described as weighing 1 trillion tons. The iceberg that broke away is 5,800-square-kilometers large. A huge iceberg, seven times the size of New York City, broke off of Antarctica, scientists said Wednesday. ![]()
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