This 18-mile-long crack in Antarctic ice could birth an iceberg bigger than Manhattan

פורסם: 27 באוק׳ 2012, 12:11 על ידי: Sustainability Org   [ עודכן 27 באוק׳ 2012, 12:12 ]
 

See this crack? The one that looks sort of like a wishbone, right above that dark swath?

NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team

It might look like a hairline fracture from that far above, but it’s actually massive:

German Aerospace Center

It’s a crack in the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf, which NASA calls “one of the largest and fastest-moving glaciers in Antarctica.” The crack is 18 miles long. That’s longer than the length of Manhattan, by more than four miles.

That bit of glacier on the other side of the crack? If it breaks off, it would create a floating iceberg. An iceberg longer than Manhattan. That wouldn’t just sink a ship, it would obliterate it.
Source: Antarctic Rift Subject of International Attention, NASA

Sarah Laskow is a reporter based in New York City who covers environment, energy, and sustainability issues, among other things. Follow her on Twitter.
 
Source: grist.org
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