Iceberg Antarctica: Giant iceberg bigger than Chicago breaks off, sailing free, An iceberg, that is larger than the city of Chicago, has broken off of a glacier in Antarctica and is now sailing free in the Amundsen Sea. The Weather Channel reported on Thursday, July 11, 2013, that the iceberg piece came off of Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier after a giant crack developed back in Oct. 2011.At that time back in 2011, the crack spanned about 15 miles in length and ranged up to 164 feet in width. German scientists kept watch on the glacier and in May 2012, images revealed that a second rift had formed near the northern side of the first fissure.
“As a result of these cracks, one giant iceberg broke away from the glacier tongue,” Angelika Humbert, a glaciologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute, said in a statement.
2001 and 2007 was when the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf last produced icebergs.“The wind now brings warm sea water beneath the shelf ice,” Humbert said. “Over time, this process means that the shelf ice melts from below, primarily at the so-called grounding line, the critical transition to the land ice.”
As of now, there are no real issues coming with this iceberg from Antarctica, despite its immense size. If the glacier speeds up though, that is when things could cause some issues and bring about serious consequences.
The Pine Island Glacier acts as a plug, of sorts, and holds back some of the gigantic West Antarctic Ice Sheet. That melting ice brings about contributions to rising sea levels, and speeding it all up could cause problems.
Title: Iceberg Antarctica: Giant iceberg bigger than Chicago breaks off, sailing free
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Rating: 100% based on 99998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Post by 12:07 PM
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