Antarctic iceberg eight times the size of Manhattan threat ... - The Express

giant ice worries the global south. For several days, an iceberg that is eight times the size of Manhattan drift in the Antarctic Ocean and poses a threat to navigation in this region. Thursday, scientists had said that he was once the size of the American city.

“Unfortunately, there is an error in the press release. It should have stated it was eight times the size of Manhattan,” lamented Professor Grant Bigg, University of Sheffield, indicating that the block of ice was 700 km2. Which is detaché early July Pine Island Glacier in western Antarctica, but the arrival of the austral spring to drift there a week or two. “During the winter, he was caught in the icy waters and stayed there,” said Robert Marsh, a researcher at the University of Southampton.

an impact on maritime traffic and the environment

British researchers keep it in the eye and try to predict its path. “The main reason we are monitoring this iceberg is that it is very large,” said a researcher. “An iceberg of this size can drift to the north for a year or more and find themselves near shipping lanes in the Southern Ocean.” A large iceberg had drifted into the area and found himself in the South Atlantic.

over the iceberg threat poses to maritime traffic, égament it could have an impact on the environment and ocean currents. “If the iceberg is around the coast of Antarctica, it will melt slowly and add a lot of freshwater coastal current, altering the density and the speed of it,” says a researcher. “Similarly, if it were to move north, it would melt faster and could alter the current flow by creating a layer of freshwater over the denser sea water,” the researcher.

First follow the microscope

If this iceberg is not big enough to have on its own a “significant” impact on the environment, “whether these events are becoming more frequent, they could lead to an accumulation of fresh water may affect sustainable “on the environment, says Grant Biggs, University of Sheffield, Great Britain.

icebergs of this size are detached from glaciers on average once every two years, but this is the first time that one of them is closely monitored in order to predict its trajectory.

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