And now its broken…
Just a month after the
United States of America through its President Donald Trump withdrew from the
historic and ambitious Paris Climate agreement- a Delaware-sized iceberg, one
of the largest ever seen, has broken off the Larsen-C ice shelf in Antarctica.
The iceberg is one of the largest ever recorded, and will forever change the outline of the Antarctic Peninsula Forever(photo: Reuters) |
Scientist have described
such outcome as ”spawning one of the largest icebergs on record and changing
the outline of the Antarctic Peninsula forever”.
“The iceberg weighs more
than a trillion tons, but it was already floating before it calved away so has
no immediate impact on sea level,” said a team of researchers from the MIDAS
Antarctic research project.
The giant iceberg would be
probably be named A68.
The crack in the Larsen C
ice shelf, finally broke through after inching its way across the frozen
formation in years. The iceberg is about 5,800 square kilometers, with a volume
that of Lake Erie, which is considered one of the greatest North American Great
Lakes.
“The calving of this iceberg
leaves the Larsen C ice shelf reduced in area by more than 12 percent, and the
landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula changed forever,” the team added. It is
believed the actual separation happened between Monday and Wednesday.
There is a theory that
global warming has accelerated the process of the calving of ice shelves which
happens normally in nature- it’s a regular occurrence in Antarctica. Warmer
ocean water melts the underbelly of the ice shelves, while the rising air
temperatures weaken them from above.
It is estimated by scientist
that Antarctica contains enough ice to raise sea levels at around two hundred
twenty feet (220), enough to drown coastal cities/islands.
Just as scientist around the
world are still debating about the existence of Global Warming, we are now
experiencing what could be a more clearer sign telling us that the world is
already changing- a possible prelude to what could be more catastrophic if we don’t
do anything-fast.
The Larsen C is Mother
Nature's warning flag," polar explorer Robert Swan said at the Sun Valley
Institute’s annual forum. “It’s her way of saying, ‘Hey, pay attention to what
you’re doing to the planet we all live on.”
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