There is a new giant glacier “on the loose”. The 1,550 square kilometers and 150 meters thick ice sheetIt has the capacity to “contain” 15 cities the size of Lisbon, which completely separated itself from the Brunt platform in Antarctica last Sunday.
Although the region is threatened by global warming, The disruption is not directly caused by climate changenoticed British Antarctic Survey (PAS) At that time the person who presented the information, A rather strong spring tide was recordedIt widened the already existing divide.
Called Chasm-1, The fissure resulting from the rupture was first identified in early 2012, after a few decades of inactivity. Images recorded by the Copernicus Sentinel mission visually confirm this A total “cut” of the block with the rest of the ice shelf..
See pictures of the glacier
The new giant glacier should be called A-81, and the smaller part broke off into A-81A or A-82. Glaciers are traditionally identified by a capital letter indicating the Antarctic quadrant where they were first seen, followed by a serial number, the ESA explains. If the glacier breaks into smaller pieces, a serial letter suffix is added.
Glaciologists know that Breakup of a glacier is often followed by adjustments in ice flow toward the “mother shelf”.. If this occurs, flow acceleration may, in this way, affect the behavior of other cracks in the Brunt platform, Experts take note.
A-81 enters the summit of huge glaciers. Its main “competitors” A-68 is 5,800 square kilometersIt separated from the Larsen-C ice shelf in July 2017, and A-76 covered 4,320 square kilometers It broke away from the Rhône ice shelf in May 2021.
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