If it were to collapse there would be nothing holding the glaciers up and they would start to flow quite quickly indeed.” Martin O’Leary, also of Swansea University, said: “It just makes the whole shelf less stable. And while the splitting off of the iceberg would not contribute to rising sea levels, the loss of glacial ice would. Scientists fear the loss of ice shelves will destabilise the frozen continent’s inland glaciers. "Our models say it will be less stable, but any future collapse remains years or decades away.Ice shelves are vast expanses of ice floating on the sea, several hundred metres thick, at the edge of glaciers. "In the ensuing months and years, the ice shelf could either gradually regrow, or may suffer further calving events which may eventually lead to collapse – opinions in the scientific community are divided," Luckman said. The ice, however, is a part of the Antarctic peninsula that has warmed fast in recent decades. "If Larsen C now starts to retreat significantly and eventually collapses, then we will see another contribution to sea level rise," he added.īig icebergs break off Antarctica naturally, meaning scientists are not linking the rift to manmade climate change. "This resulted in the dramatic acceleration of the glaciers behind them, with larger volumes of ice entering the ocean and contributing to sea-level rise," said David Vaughan, glaciologist and director of science at British Antarctic Survey. The Larsen A and B ice shelves, which were situated further north on the Antarctic Peninsula, collapsed in 19, respectively. The iceberg, which is likely to be named A68, was already floating before it broke away so there is no immediate impact on sea levels, but the calving has left the Larsen C ice shelf reduced in area by more than 12 percent. In 2009, more than 150 passengers and crew were evacuated after the MTV Explorer sank after striking an iceberg off the Antarctic peninsula. The peninsula is outside major trade routes but the main destination for cruise ships visiting from South America. The ice will add to risks for ships now it has broken off. Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters," he added. "It may remain in one piece but is more likely to break into fragments. "The iceberg is one of the largest recorded and its future progress is difficult to predict," said Adrian Luckman, professor at Swansea University and lead investigator of Project MIDAS, which has been monitoring the ice shelf for years. Throughout the Antarctic winter, scientists monitored the progress of the rift in the ice shelf using the European Space Agency satellites. The iceberg has been close to breaking off for a few months. The one trillion tonne iceberg, measuring 5,800 square km, calved away from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica sometime between July 10 and 12, said scientists at the University of Swansea and the British Antarctic Survey. London: One of the biggest icebergs on record has broken away from Antarctica, scientists said on Wednesday, creating an extra hazard for ships around the continent as it breaks up. Sadly, politics trumps principles in Kerala!.Priya Menon is all set to take Sankalp to the next level.Tribunal rejects claim on early conciliation number.Social media savvy cops setting example in Bengaluru.KPP: The Unsung Voyager of Kerala Industry.Omar Sharif: Best bridge player in the world.Retirement is not 'the evening of life'.Heading towards stronger foreign exchange reserves.Radhika Thilak, that gentle sweetness, is gone much before her time.Migrant workers send home 4 per cent of Kerala's GDP.Transcendence of Death in the Harry Potter Series.Why rolling your eyes at feminists isn’t helping anyone.International Film Festival Of India 2017 | Goa Film festival | IFFI Awards | Onmanorama.International Film Festival of Kerala 2017 | Kerala Film festival | IFFK Awards | Onmanorama.
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