How icebergs form and how to predict their detachment: here are the partial results of research conducted in Antarctica
A team of scientists is trying to understand in detail the causes that lead to production of gigantic Antarctic icebergs. These are portions the size of cities, the calving of which represents almost half of the ice lost from the continent. This can only make them crucial in future predictions of sea level rise. For this reason, British researchers are trying to obtain as much information as possible. Specifically, the study focuses on a region of the Antarcticwhere two mega icebergs recently calved.
The birth of icebergs
The expectation of this research is certainly the creation of real models for predicting the birth of icebergs, so as to understand where the icebergs will occur. next “calvings”. This is the unofficial term that scientists use, with reference to the birth of the cow, to describe the birth/detachment of these gigantic blocks.
The region under analysis is the Brunt Ice Shelf, which is the ledge from where glaciers broke off and then flowed into the Weddell Sea. In 2021, a boulder called A74 was “born” from here, equal to 1,300 km². In 2023 it was followed by A81, with its 1,500 km².
THE researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) recently returned, after using different instruments on the Brunt Ice Shelf, such as GPS receivers, radars and seismographs. They collected as many as possible possible information on crack propagation, which obviously lead to the final separation. Attempts have been made to understand the physical properties of ice.
When talking about platforms like Brunt, it’s important to understand how they are not uniform bodies. There is this wrong idea, which does not take into account the fact that in reality it is the result of a gigantic one amalgam of different types of ice.
In some areas, rock-hard glacial ice is found. In others, however, there is sea ice, whose empty spaces have been filled with snow, which acts like glue to hold the different segments together.
Thus, attempts were made to drill to obtain different types of ice. The carrots obtained will be taken to the laboratory and crushed. The doctor explained it Liz Thomas at the BBC: “We intend to understand physical strength. We will therefore exert a lot of pressure on the ice, so as to understand at what point it breaks, tilts, shatters or even crumbles. All this should tell us because these huge banks break away”.
The future of research
Scientists hope that the lessons learned thanks to Brunt can also be applied to other areas of Antarctica. Consider that about the 75% of the continent’s edge boasts floating platforms which, potentially, can generate gigantic icebergs.
Detachment is part of natural balance, it must be underlined. The expulsion of ice floes balances the snowfall, which creates more ice behind. Still to be proven impact of warm waters at the front of the platform, which could change the overall balance of the Brunt.
Certainly in other sections there were warmer conditions that triggered an explosion of icebergs. The doctor Emma Pearce spoke about climate change and its impact on some sections of Antarctica. A condition that caused the platforms to slide and form icebergs at an accelerated rate.
“This all acts like removing a bottle cap. The ice behind it is allowed to flow into the sea at an accelerated rate. This causes sea levels to rise. The processes associated with this phenomenon are not particularly well understood. We therefore need to control them better.”
Tags: moving ice Antarctica worrying scientists
