Being Green - 14 July 2017

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Giant iceberg Splits off Antarctic

A huge ice-berg broke off the edge of the Larsen ‘C’ Ice Shelf in Antarctica this week. It was not an unexpected event, as scientists have been monitoring the huge crack in the ice for a number of years, and saw it extending steadily. The Larsen Ice Shelf lies along the Antarctic Peninsula – that bit that sticks up toward South America. The Shelf is one of the largest in Antarctica, and it’s also in a slightly warmer region. This berg broke away from the Larsen C shelf, which is further south and therefore colder than the ‘B’ and ‘A’ shelves. The ice-berg is one of the ten biggest recorded – to give you an idea, it’s about twice the area of Cape Town and the Cape Flats combined, over 100 km long on one axis It’s about 200 -300 metres thick – a lot of ice!
Now we often hear about these giant ice-bergs breaking off, or ‘calving’ as it’s called, and the alarmists say – there you are, global warming, the sea level is going to rise, catastrophe! Well as you may expect, it’s not as simple as that. For one thing, this is not like chucking a cube of ice into your drink.
The ice was already floating in the sea, although attached by a thin icy membrane to the Larsen C shelf, so the sea level will not rise (think of Archimedes principle which you did at school!) But it’s still a big event, and it’s possible that eventually the ‘berg will drift Northwards into the far South Atlantic, where it may break up and prove hazardous to shipping.
Scientists are not alarmed at the development, it’s pretty much as expected, but Professor Helen Fricker of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography explains why it’s necessary to monitor these big events closely.

Helen Fricker of the Scripps Institute talking on a BBC report on the giant ice block that is breaking away from the Larsen C Ice-shelf.

A number of Earth Observation satellites keep tabs on what the ice is doing in the Antarctic – even though it’s pretty dark there at this time of year, these sophisticated devices can monitor at infra-red wave-lengths and with high-resolution radar, so they can literally see in the dark.
It seems the rate of calving of these giant ice-bergs has increased over the past thirty years. Is this a sign of atmospheric warming? Possibly, but only time will tell I suppose.
14 Jul 2017 English South Africa Health & Fitness

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