Vast Antarctic ice shelf on verge of collapse
Vast Antarctic ice shelf on verge of collapse
Latest sign of global warming’s impact shocks scientists
A vast ice shelf hanging on by a thin strip looks to be the next chunk to break off from the Antarctic Peninsula, the latest sign of global warming’s impact on Earth's southernmost continent. Scientists are shocked by the rapid change of events.
An image of the Wilkins Ice Shelf disintegration taken from the British Antarctic Survey's Twin Otter aircraft reconnaissance flight.
Glaciologist Ted Scambos of the University of Colorado was monitoring satellite images of the Wilkins Ice Shelf and spotted a huge iceberg measuring 25 miles by 1.5 miles that appeared to have broken away from the shelf. Scambos alerted colleagues at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) that it looked like the entire ice shelf about 6,180 square miles (about the size of Northern Ireland) was at risk of collapsing.
David Vaughan of the BAS had predicted in 1993 that the northern part of the Wilkins Ice Shelf was likely to be lost within 30 years if warming on the Peninsula continued at the same rate. Wilkins is the largest ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula yet to be threatened, he said. I didn't expect to see things happen this quickly. The ice shelf is hanging by a thread we'll know in the next few days and weeks what its fate will be.
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©NSNBC | Gewijzigd: 25 april 2017, 11:26 uur, door Joyce.s
Latest sign of global warming’s impact shocks scientists
A vast ice shelf hanging on by a thin strip looks to be the next chunk to break off from the Antarctic Peninsula, the latest sign of global warming’s impact on Earth's southernmost continent. Scientists are shocked by the rapid change of events.
An image of the Wilkins Ice Shelf disintegration taken from the British Antarctic Survey's Twin Otter aircraft reconnaissance flight.
Glaciologist Ted Scambos of the University of Colorado was monitoring satellite images of the Wilkins Ice Shelf and spotted a huge iceberg measuring 25 miles by 1.5 miles that appeared to have broken away from the shelf. Scambos alerted colleagues at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) that it looked like the entire ice shelf about 6,180 square miles (about the size of Northern Ireland) was at risk of collapsing.
David Vaughan of the BAS had predicted in 1993 that the northern part of the Wilkins Ice Shelf was likely to be lost within 30 years if warming on the Peninsula continued at the same rate. Wilkins is the largest ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula yet to be threatened, he said. I didn't expect to see things happen this quickly. The ice shelf is hanging by a thread we'll know in the next few days and weeks what its fate will be.
Klik hier voor het hele artikel
©NSNBC | Gewijzigd: 25 april 2017, 11:26 uur, door Joyce.s
Huge Chunk Of Antarctic Ice Collapses
Global Warming Blamed For Ice Shelf Collapse That Puts Larger Area At Risk
This satellite photo released by the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder shows a detail of the Wilkins Ice Shelf on March 6, 2008 on the Southwest Antarctic Peninsula as it began to break apart. (AP Photo)
A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said Tuesday.
Satellite images show the runaway disintegration of a 160-square-mile chunk in western Antarctica, which started Feb. 28. It was the edge of the Wilkins ice shelf and has been there for hundreds, maybe 1,500 years.
Lees hier het hele artikel
Bron: CBS | Gewijzigd: 25 april 2017, 11:26 uur, door Joyce.s
Global Warming Blamed For Ice Shelf Collapse That Puts Larger Area At Risk
This satellite photo released by the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder shows a detail of the Wilkins Ice Shelf on March 6, 2008 on the Southwest Antarctic Peninsula as it began to break apart. (AP Photo)
A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said Tuesday.
Satellite images show the runaway disintegration of a 160-square-mile chunk in western Antarctica, which started Feb. 28. It was the edge of the Wilkins ice shelf and has been there for hundreds, maybe 1,500 years.
Lees hier het hele artikel
Bron: CBS | Gewijzigd: 25 april 2017, 11:26 uur, door Joyce.s
Every cloud has a silver lining
Gigantisch stuk ijs breekt af bij Antarctica
Bij Antarctica is een groot stuk gletsjerijs in relatief korte tijd in kleine stukken uiteengevallen. De desintegratie van het 415 vierkante kilometer grote stuk ijs aan de rand van de Wilkins shelf in het westen van Antarctica begon op 28 februari. Onderzoekers ontdekten het proces dat gaande was op satellietopnamen en richtten onmiddellijk satellietcamera's op het gebied om het te filmen.
"Het is iets wat we niet vaak te zien krijgen. Barsten vullen zich met water, waarna het ijs afbreekt en kantelt", aldus Ted Scambos van het National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado. Grotere en dramatischere desintegraties hebben zich voorgedaan in 2002 en 1995. Geleerden verwachten dat de rest van de Wilkins shelf over een jaar of vijftien zal afbreken.
Bron: HLN
Bij Antarctica is een groot stuk gletsjerijs in relatief korte tijd in kleine stukken uiteengevallen. De desintegratie van het 415 vierkante kilometer grote stuk ijs aan de rand van de Wilkins shelf in het westen van Antarctica begon op 28 februari. Onderzoekers ontdekten het proces dat gaande was op satellietopnamen en richtten onmiddellijk satellietcamera's op het gebied om het te filmen.
"Het is iets wat we niet vaak te zien krijgen. Barsten vullen zich met water, waarna het ijs afbreekt en kantelt", aldus Ted Scambos van het National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado. Grotere en dramatischere desintegraties hebben zich voorgedaan in 2002 en 1995. Geleerden verwachten dat de rest van de Wilkins shelf over een jaar of vijftien zal afbreken.
Bron: HLN
Every cloud has a silver lining
