In Antarctica, 'Weird' Things Are Happening
With the dramatic crash of an iceberg against a glacier that dislodged a massive new chunk of ice, the mysterious continent of Antarctica once again did the unexpected.
The big chunk, slightly smaller than Oahu, Hawaii, broke off from a place it wasn't supposed to and in a way that wasn't quite anticipated, scientists reported Friday.
The new iceberg broke off from the cooler eastern end of Antarctica as a longer but thinner iceberg that stretches for 60 miles hammered it free. It will unlikely cause future ice loss problems on the continent, scientists said.
This happened as researchers have focused attention on the western side of Antarctica. Concern has grown over warmer temperatures there, especially the region's shrinking peninsula. Remarkably, that peninsula, where last year one ice shelf was said to be hanging by a thread, had an unusually cool summer. It hit pause on ice loss, Ted Scambos, a scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center, said Thursday.
Then the next day Australian researchers alerted the world to the iceberg crash on the other side of the continent. They said it had probably occurred around Feb. 12 or 13. "There are some crazy things going down in Antarctica," said Mark Serreze, director of the snow and ice data center, based in Boulder, Colo. "It seems kind of weird, but weird things happen."
Copyright: arcticle: St. Petersburg Times
Original article from: http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/weird-things-are-happening-in-antarctica/1076276
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With the dramatic crash of an iceberg against a glacier that dislodged a massive new chunk of ice, the mysterious continent of Antarctica once again did the unexpected.
The big chunk, slightly smaller than Oahu, Hawaii, broke off from a place it wasn't supposed to and in a way that wasn't quite anticipated, scientists reported Friday.
The new iceberg broke off from the cooler eastern end of Antarctica as a longer but thinner iceberg that stretches for 60 miles hammered it free. It will unlikely cause future ice loss problems on the continent, scientists said.
This happened as researchers have focused attention on the western side of Antarctica. Concern has grown over warmer temperatures there, especially the region's shrinking peninsula. Remarkably, that peninsula, where last year one ice shelf was said to be hanging by a thread, had an unusually cool summer. It hit pause on ice loss, Ted Scambos, a scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center, said Thursday.
Then the next day Australian researchers alerted the world to the iceberg crash on the other side of the continent. They said it had probably occurred around Feb. 12 or 13. "There are some crazy things going down in Antarctica," said Mark Serreze, director of the snow and ice data center, based in Boulder, Colo. "It seems kind of weird, but weird things happen."
Copyright: arcticle: St. Petersburg Times
Original article from: http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/weird-things-are-happening-in-antarctica/1076276
Forward this news message:
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