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Enormous iceberg close to breaking away


seeder

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ENORMOUS iceberg close to BREAKING AWAY from Antarctica risking FOUR INCH sea rise
ONE of the biggest icebergs in the world is on the broke of breaking OFF from Antarctica, after a huge crack appeared.

The 5,000 square kilometre block of ice, which is one of the 10 biggest ever icebergs, could spark a four inch rise in sea levels if it rips away.

Scientists noticed a large rift in the Larsen C ice shelf in Western Antarctica had expanded suddenly last month.

Now they warn it is “hanging on by a thread” and could break away at any moment.

While the breakaway of this iceberg will not directly cause sea levels to rise, the experts behind the study from from Project Midas – a UK-based Arctic research group – believe it could leave the entire ice shelf it is attached to vulnerable to crumbling.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/751040/iceberg-collapse-rising-sea-levels-antarctica


 

 

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4 minutes ago, seeder said:

While the breakaway of this iceberg will not directly cause sea levels to rise

I read about this yesterday.  But it will rise and will have an effect somehow:

 

 

If the entire ice shelf does collapse as a result of the departing iceberg, then it could lead to a rise in sea levels of almost four inches.

Although four inches does not seem like a huge amount, between 1993 and 2014, the average sea level rose by 2.6 inches meaning that the process of rising waters will be sped up rapidly.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/751040/iceberg-collapse-rising-sea-levels-antarctica

 

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Run for the hills!

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32 minutes ago, glorybebe said:

I am thinking snout the animals.  What impact will it have on the wildlife down there?

Most will survive, because:

 The largest truly land animal is a wingless midge about 13mm / 0.5 of an inch long. As the animal life is dependent on the sea and are mainly warm blooded, they tend to be pretty large as a survival technique against the extreme and relentless cold.

http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica fact file/antarctica_animal.php

 

land animals can more easily reach the Arctic unlike Antarctica where animals must be able to swim or fly there across hundreds of miles of frigid and storm-prone ocean even at the narrowest point.

http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica fact file/arctic_animal.php

 

 

But the penguins have been hit already:

AN iceberg "the size of a small country" has caused 150,000 penguins to starve to death in Antarctica.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/644010/penguin-iceberg-colony-killed-die

Edited by freetoroam
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Could this effect global weather patterns?

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13 minutes ago, Lucas Cooper Merrin said:

Could this effect global weather patterns?

 

Good point and I dont know.....but the article implied with a huge chunk of ice soon to be free....it may encourage further break offs...thus....less ice sheet

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Wonder what's causing it to break like that? That's a pretty huge chunk.

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If it all comes sliding and crashing down with a splash, think the mother of all Tsunamis ...

~
 

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4 hours ago, brlesq1 said:

Wonder what's causing it to break like that? That's a pretty huge chunk.

The Russians. 

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Not all of Antarctica has land under it.  Higher temps can affect the water under the ice.  Maybe there are similar types of dynamics going on there in some areas as there is in the Arctic ;  the ice melts from the top, making it weigh less and float higher in the water, this in turn lets more water flow under the ice and more water means more melting, now from beneath, which makes the ice float even higher, and lets even more water through underneath and cause more melting, which makes the ice float even higher ... and so on . 

Related image

 

 

and not all of Antarctica is covered in ice either ;

Related image        

 

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5 hours ago, seanjo said:

Has it happened before?

 

Yep but I think this might be the biggest mass to break off

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18 hours ago, seanjo said:

Has it happened before?

Of course it has and it has done it repeatedly through the centuries. It will be claimed as evidence of man-made climate change despite having no evidence other than computer modeling (give someone enough time they can create a computer model that will show anything they want including that unicorn farts caused something to happen) and "educated" guesses.

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Seriously, though, this isn't anything new, and it won't lead to anything new.  Welcome to the Earth, people.

Edited by Thorvir
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Seriously, though, this isn't anything new, and it won't lead to anything new.  Welcome to the Earth, people.

 

Oh its not new?  How often does 5000 kms of ice break off then?  And its fact we have global warming...

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15 minutes ago, seanjo said:

Ever? or in our lifetime?

 

 

Did you read the OP?   It says

Quote

which is one of the 10 biggest ever icebergs,

 

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Its interesting to note the Larson B ice shelf broke up in 2002

http://m.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/larsenb.php

and also east Antartica more vulnerable to melting " then expected"

https://cleantechnica.com/2017/01/02/east-antarctica-ice-sheet-vulnerable-melting-expected/

The video is well worth watching...

 

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This is all sea ice, so, even if it melts in the end, it will not serve to raise sea level (actually lower it a tad since ice floats and hence displaces water).  However, it tells us a message -- the sea ice will go first, and is now going.  The land ice is getting thinner, melting both top and bottom.  We are being warned over and over, but some politicians and businessmen, with their own agendas, ignore the warnings.

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11 hours ago, Frank Merton said:

This is all sea ice, so, even if it melts in the end, it will not serve to raise sea level (actually lower it a tad since ice floats and hence displaces water).  However, it tells us a message -- the sea ice will go first, and is now going.  The land ice is getting thinner, melting both top and bottom.  We are being warned over and over, but some politicians and businessmen, with their own agendas, ignore the warnings.

To be fair, it is not just the politicians and businessmen.    We all ignore the warnings.  I probably could have found a ride to work instead of driving my car.   We all buy and use products with Chinese made parts.   We know that factories in China pollute more than factories in most other countries.  

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As huge ships displace tons and tons of water with their drafts, I wonder if pulling all ships out of the water would lower the sea levels

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AHAHAHhhahahahaha excellent ther e BARKINGHORSE! ah-oh, greenpeace(or whatever they're named these days) wouldn't be able to have a boat!

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49 minutes ago, Barkinghorse said:

As huge ships displace tons and tons of water with their drafts, I wonder if pulling all ships out of the water would lower the sea levels

Interesting question actually. I don't have all the figures needed of course so let's make a swag. There are currently about 5100 cargo vessels globally with a combined capacity of about 18 billion tons of displacement. Let's add another 1-2 billion tons for cruise ships and domestic vessels. Another 2 billion for military. Round up to 22 billion tons. 

The Larsen shelf is losing between 24-40 billion tons of fresh water a year, and year-over-year sea level rise is a fraction of an inch... so best guess of the effect of removing every ship from the ocean on sea levels: very little, but not zero.

Edited by Calibeliever
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10 hours ago, Myles said:

To be fair, it is not just the politicians and businessmen.    We all ignore the warnings.  I probably could have found a ride to work instead of driving my car.   We all buy and use products with Chinese made parts.   We know that factories in China pollute more than factories in most other countries.  

Your point surely isn't that two wrongs make a right.  That would be a logical fallacy and I know you can think better than that.

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  • The title was changed to Enormous iceberg close to breaking away

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