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Last year, the world admired a huge three billion tonne iceberg off the Antarctic ice sheet Larsen C. Baptized A-68, the giant slab of ice broke loose from the pack ice on July 12, the Inquisitr was reported at the time, but was not too far from where it originated, that is until July 2018.
After being relatively stationary for about 12 months, the A-68 has radically changed its position and is now moving, constantly turning towards the ocean, reports Further.
According to a report by polar oceanographer Mark Brandon, the monstrous iceberg measuring 5,800 square kilometers and ranked as the sixth largest iceberg recorded by the NASA Scatterometer Climate Record Pathfinder, has moved away from the Larsen ice floe. 39; ocean.
Initially, the A-68 was trapped near its original plateau for nearly a year, being overturned by currents and winds and repeatedly jammed in Bawden Ice's shallow water. Rise, note MIDAS project, a UK-based Antarctic research group monitoring the iceberg and Larsen C ice shelf.
However, about two months ago, the A-68 "began to turn to the north," turning counterclockwise, wrote Brandon in a post on August 31 sure Mallemaroking.
Used my blog A trillion tons of ice moving https://t.co/qOrfDFMpcj to update the @ Wikipedia page for #Antarctic #Iceberg # A68 https://t.co/kiwIqAYb6Y
– Mark Brandon (@icey_mark) August 31, 2018
The oceanographer heard of the sudden change in the iceberg after examining a series of false-color images taken with the satellite of the Suomi nuclear power plant. Designed together by Brandon and available on the NASA Worldview app, the satellite images incorporate temperature-light data and show the cold iceberg and pack ice in a dark purple hue against the lighter background of the ice. warmer water surrounding them.
As BGR points out that the images reveal that A-68 has undergone a "dramatic change" and is currently repositioned almost perpendicular to the Larsen C ice floe, having rotated about 90 degrees. According to NASA's expert glaciologist Christopher Shuman, the 40-degree rotation over the last month, the iceberg swiveling 10 degrees over the last two weeks.
https://t.co/Fq3A0Un6lI
– James A. Whitsett, Jr (@ Jayw227) September 5, 2018
Nobody really knows what caused this bizarre phenomenon, which seems to have started during the winter in the southern hemisphere. The dramatic effect of the iceberg – which was picked up by the satellite as soon as the Antarctic began to pull out of the winter blanket – would have been triggered once the A-68 was released from all that who tied him.
"Winds or ocean currents may have shaken the situation, or the natural thinning process (both melting and ice flow) may have removed the bottom of the iceberg. "Says Martin O. Leary. the MIDAS project said in a statement. "In any case, it looks like the berg is now much freer [sic] to move, he will probably continue to turn and go out at sea. "
One thing is certain, namely that the frenzied rotation of the iceberg "shows no sign of stopping", Further.
After being literally and figuratively stuck in the mud for about a year, the A-68 iceberg began to spin dramatically this summer. Here's my story about it, and a big h / t to @icey_mark to bring this to my attention. https://t.co/mzKMhfnhRq
– Maddie Stone (@themadstone) September 3, 2018
According to Bradon, the A-68 will continue to turn "until the northern edge is currently facing the Larsen C ice front."
"There is a spectacular amount of momentum and it will not stop easily. I think we will see some interesting collisions with the pack ice over the next few months, "writes the oceanographer on his blog.
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