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Scientists following a massive iceberg that detached from Antarctica's Larsen C platform last year say that the dense ice cover has up to 39% of the ice. here prevented from drifting far to sea.
An animation showing its movement in recent months reveals how the ton-billion-plus Iceberg A-68 has changed as it is battered by ocean currents, tides and winds in the Weddell Sea.
While the huge piece of ice, estimated at about the size of Delaware, has moved, experts say its environment has kept it somewhat in place.
Iceberg A-68 is the sixth largest iceberg recorded since scientists began tracking, and its separation from the pack ice has raised fears about its future impacts on sea levels. [19659002] Despite all the activity in the Weddell Sea, According to Midas Project researchers, who have monitored the iceberg over the past year, "its northern end has been repeatedly stranded in less waters deep near Bawden Ice Rise "
" These strandings ended up destroying other parts of the iceberg. off in May 2018.
"Although they are not big enough for them to be tagged, the total area of icebergs lost from A-68 in May was about the size of the icebergs. A small town. "
The very first movie of "A-68", an iceberg of the size of Delaware that detached from Antarctica.
Surprising air clips capture the huge crack in the Antarctic Larsen Ice Shelf that led to the third largest Iceb When A-68 was separated from Larsen C, it has revealed an ocean hidden under the pack ice for 120,000 years, and a team of scientists is now studying the region to uncover the mysteries of the hidden ecosystem.
Led by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), based in Cambridge, the group will study tiny animals, microbes and plankton on the seabed to see how they cope with severe changes in their environment.
During the trip, the team took aerial images of the iceberg to see where it drifted to the sea – the very first video captured from the iceberg ever since She has calved from Larsen C.
Dr. Katrin Linse, Marine Biologist "The calving of A-68 offers us a unique opportunity to study marine life in response to a dramatic environmental change." [19659002] "It is important that we get there quickly before the underwater environment changes as the sun gets in." water and new species begin to colonize.
"We have set up a team with a wide range of scientific skills so that we can collect as much information as possible in a short period of time. It's very exciting.
Scientists travel by boat to collect samples from the newly exposed seabed, which covers an area of about 2,850 square kilometers.
The team says that their mission is urgent because the ecosystem that is probably hidden under the ice for thousands of years can change as sunlight begins to change the Sea surface layers.
The team will examine the area under the ice floe by collecting marine animals, microbes, plankton, sediments and water samples for assistance. various cameras, including video cameras and a sled pulled on the seabed. They will also record marine mammals and birds that may have settled in the area. Their discoveries will give an idea of life under the pack ice, which helps to track changes in the ecosystem.
A-68 has a thickness of 620 feet (190 meters) from top to bottom, with only 100 feet (30 meters)) of it is visible over the ocean.
The iceberg was formed from a single crack along Larsen C, its mother ice platform, and constituted a little over 10% of the shelf.
BAS researchers flew over the iceberg to see it better. it drifts in the Weddell Sea.
This newly exposed marine area is the first to benefit from an international agreement reached in 2016 by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). The agreement came as a result of a proposal from the European Union to CCAMLR, led by BAS scientists.
Professor David Vaughan, Scientific Director, BAS, said, "The calving of A-68 offers a new and unprecedented opportunity to establish an interdisciplinary scientific research program in this climate-sensitive region.
It is time to address fundamental questions about the sustainability of the continental polar plateaux under climate change.
"We must be bold on this point. Larsen C is a long way to the south and there is a lot of sea ice in the area, but it's an important science, so we'll do our best to find the team where it needs to be . "
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