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A deep crack on on Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf has nearly severed off one of the largest icebergs ever recorded:
One of the largest icebergs ever recorded — 2,500 square miles, about the size of Delaware — is about to break off Antarctica, according to the European Space Agency. The iceberg could speed up the break-off of other ice chunks, eventually eating away at a barrier that prevents ice from flowing to the sea.
The impending iceberg is being carved from one of the continent's major ice shelves, called Larsen C. Scientists have been monitoring Larsen C for months now, as a deep crack has slowly extended over the course of 120 miles. Only about three miles of ice are keeping the iceberg attached to the shelf, ESA says. No one knows when it will break off — it could be any moment — but when it does, the iceberg will likely be 620 feet thick (about the height of the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York) and contain roughly 1 trillion tons of ice. It'll be drifting north toward South America, and could even reach the Falkland Islands. "If so it could pose a hazard for ships in Drake Passage," Anna Hogg from the University of Leeds, said in a statement.
Also at BBC.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by VLM on Thursday July 06 2017, @11:32AM (1 child)
It could make it all the way to the St Lawrence seaway and block Lake Huron which is only 183 miles at its fattest. There's a lot of "it could" out there.
It should be possible to take a big berg like that, trap it in a bay somewhere, and melt it for fresh water. Eventually via sewage or evaporation it would all end up in the ocean, but meanwhile it could be quite handy to have all that water.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday July 06 2017, @06:25PM
The UAE wanted to send tugs, but they're too busy having an argument with Qatar.
Hollywood is sending a couple heavy lift helicopters instead. Using movie physics, they were planning a non-stop return flight with the whole thing, but some producer decided to make a stop in Jamaica to get a good sunset shot.