An Methedrine ledge the sizing of Hong Kong has collapsed in eastern Antarctica , engender a large berg and concern that unusually warm temperatures in the region might be responsible .
In a March 24tweet , Catherine Colello Walker , an Earth and world-wide scientist from NASA and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute , posted combined images gather by the Landsat and MODIS satellites record the “ complete crash ” of eastern Antarctica ’s Conger frappe shelf . The 463 - straight mile ( 1,200 - hearty - km ) chalk ledge is now run short , replaced by unresolved sea and countless piece of be adrift ice . Oh , and a 18.4 - naut mi - foresighted ( 29.6 - kilometer ) iceberg indicate C-38 .
Complete collapse of East Antarctica ’s Conger Ice Shelf ( ~1200 sq . km ) ~March 15 , see to it in combo of#Landsatand#MODISimagery . potential it attain its tipping point following the#Antarctic#AtmosphericRiverand heatwave too?#CongerIceShelf#Antarctica@helenafricker@icy_petehttps://t.co/7dP5d6isvdpic.twitter.com/1wzmuOwdQn
Sentinel-1A image showing the location of the former Conger Ice Shelf. Iceberg C-38 is a Conger remnant, while iceberg C-37 is the product of another recent collapse, that of the Glenzer ice shelf.Image: ESA/Sentinel-1A
— Catherine Colello Walker ( @CapComCatWalk)March 24 , 2022
The timing of the planet images suggests that the Conger shabu shelf , which sat just to the east of the giganticShackleton ice shelf , crack up around March 15 and that visible dislocation to Conger started to appear to begin with in the month . Ice shelves extend from chalk sheets and residue atop the ocean . Warmer water supply “ damp the floating ice shelf that take form in key places along the coast,”accordingto the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency , adding that “ sparkler shelves serve to carry back the flow of ice on domain , so as trash shelves quail or disappear , methamphetamine hydrochloride from the shabu sheet can flow into the ocean more quickly . ”
Helen Amanda Fricker , a prof of glaciology at Scripps Polar Center , saideast Antarctica has experienced three distinct iceberg calving event this month , including the “ dramatic ” prostration of the Conger glass shelf . “ Iceberg calving issue are a natural part of the ‘ checks and balances ’ of the Antarctic Ice Sheet , it has to drop the mass it gains through snowfall , ” Frickertweeted . “ But since there was also an uttermost thawing event around this time , plainly we do ask to examine if there is a link . ”
The farsighted term demise and eventual crash of Conger crank shelf in East Antarctica 🇦 🇶 as discover by@CopernicusEU#sentinel1 🛰 ️pic.twitter.com / z78KGokTna
— Stef Lhermitte ( @StefLhermitte)March 25 , 2022
Indeed , east Antarctica of late experienced someunusually warmweather , with the Hg slay around 11 degree Fahrenheit ( -11 point Celsius ) at Concordia enquiry base on March 18 . That ’s 70 degrees F higher than normal for that location this prison term of year . An atmospheric river delivered warm moist aura to the region , but it ’s not entirely decipherable if climate modification is responsible . Nor is it immediately clean if the fond weather is the reason for the Conger collapse , but it ’s something scientists will need to study .
irrespective , it ’s the “ most significant ” collapse to happen anywhere in the Antarctic since the demise of the Larsen B Methedrine shelf in 2002 , Walkertoldthe Guardian . Walker enounce the Conger ice ledge had been cringe noticeably since the showtime of 2022 . Bertie Miles , a research colleague at the University of Edinburgh , saidthe “ complete collapse of the Conger Ice Shelf in late day is the end of a long - term multi - decadal dying of the ice shelf , ” adding that most of the loss find between 1973 and 2000 .
The recent calving event have grow two icebergs of significance , give the namesC-37andC-38by the U.S. National Ice Center . C-38 is the larger of the two , evaluate 18.4 statute mile ( 29.6 km ) recollective and 11.5 mi ( 18.5 km ) wide . C-37 is a remainder of the Glenzer Ice Shelf , whereas C-38 is from Conger .
In related to news , the sea shabu around Antarctica was recently note at itslowest levelssince satellite platter commence in 1979 , according to NASA Earth Observatory . In February , sea ice vanish below 772,000 square miles ( 2 million square kilometer ) , below the previous criminal record set in March 2017 . Said NASA Earth Observatory : “ equate to the medium lower limit , the sea ice this year is missing an arena about twice the sizing of California . ”
The reason , according to Walt Meier , a ocean water ice researcher at the National Snow and Ice Data Center , is that unusually strong winds are pushing frappe into affectionate warmer . Ocean temperature have an influence on ocean icing , he said , tell Earth Observatory that “ a abbreviated heat waving wo n’t affect things too much in that respect . ”
Things are changing in Antarctica , that much is obvious . These observation , along with continue investigations of the gelid continent , will doubtlessly aid to clear up what exactly is going on and the extent to which human being - make climate alteration is responsible .
cryosphereEarthGlaciologyIce shelfWater ice
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