A large Antarctic ice sheet that covered an area as large as New York City or Rome fell into the sea. Scientists note that while they do not expect serious consequences from this event, the melting of ice on this historically stable land may be a sign of things to come.
Satellite images show the sudden disappearance of the Conger Ice Shelf in the East Antarctica between March 14 and March 16. “The Glenzer Conger Ice Shelf has probably been there for thousands of years and will never go there again,” said University of Minnesota glaciologist Peter Neff. NPR. While the ice sheet has been slowly declining since the 1970s, this month’s melting is preceded by a rapid fall this month.
Antarctica is divided into East and West Antarctica, with the Transantarctic Mountain Range separating the two regions. In West Antarctica, the snow is much firmer than in the east, so melting and falling ice are often seen.
However, East Antarctica is one of the coldest and driest places in the world Earth, and because of this, the fall of the ice wall was not heard. According to the APThis was the first major ice sheet fall in East Antarctica in human history.
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This ice sheet collapsed during the low temperatures of the land. Concordia Station, an Antarctic research center in the eastern part of the country, reported 10.8 degrees Fahrenheit (11.8 degrees Celsius) on March 18, the hottest temperature recorded in March at the site. This temperature is 72 F (40 C) higher than summer averages. These non -high temperatures are the result of an “air property,” which is a jet of warm, clean air that captures heat over the earth’s surface, according to the report. The Guard. Some of it flowed like rain.
Most of that heat comes from the river of air that is absorbed by the water beneath the Conger Ice Shelf. NASA earth scientist Catherine Colello Walker said Twitter That heat, which was carried by a stream of air, was caused by the sudden collapse of the board.
Despite the big fall on March 15, it was only the second of three “calving” events in the country this month, according to Helen Amanda Fricker, a doctor of glaciology at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at Twitter. According to Fricker, ice board calving events, called the birth of ice caps, are part of the natural life of an ice board. Because of the different types of temperature, scientists need to find out the ability to air.change limate bill.
According to the U.S. National Ice Center, the baby shower events took place, which began on March 7th icebergs. One of them, called the C-37, was 8 nautical miles long and 3 nautical miles wide (14.8 and 5.6 kilometers).
While scientists don’t believe there will be serious consequences from the collapse of the Conger Ice Shelf, they believe this may be the beginning of some kind of crisis. According to Neff, Ice sheets are a barrier to prevent Antarctic glaciers from melting, as they separate those glaciers from warm sea water. If the glaciers in East Antarctica melt, they could significantly lead to sea level rise in the coming years.
Originally published on Live Science.
