Arctic Warming Means Explosion In Iceberg #s; Oil Rigs Had To Use Water Cannon, Tugs To Keep Clear

[hatrack]

As the planet warms, giant icebergs and sea ice that once would have remained trapped in the frozen Arctic are moving southward faster and more frequently, menacing shipping and oil and gas drilling operations. In the North Atlantic, scientists say the number of icebergs spotted south of 48 degrees latitude—where they start to get into more shipping lanes—is up again this year, following a series of extreme iceberg seasons.

"So far, iceberg numbers crossing south of 48 degrees look to be higher this year than last, and last year saw a relatively high iceberg flux year—about 1,000 icebergs crossing 48 North, compared to the long-term mean of 450," said University of Sheffield geographer Grant Bigg, who studies icebergs and climate.

That ice can pose serious risks to ships and offshore oil and gas rigs. Last year, strong storms sent a swarm of icebergs surging into the oil and gas drilling field at the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, marking the fourth extreme iceberg season in a row, according to International Ice Patrol Commander Gabrielle McGrath.

EDIT

During one week, the number of icebergs in McGrath's watch area in the North Atlantic surged from 37 to 455. At the peak of the iceberg invasion, the trackers also found seven icebergs outside their normal monitoring area, creating what McGrath described as the most dangerous possible situation for North Atlantic mariners. "The oil and gas industry on the Grand Banks was inundated," McGrath said. "There were so many icebergs coming on to the rigs that they couldn't keep up. They do towing operations a lot of times, where they lasso the icebergs and pull them away, but they couldn't get that into place, so they were using water cannons standing on rigs and boats to push them away because they were coming on to the rigs so fast."

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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/27032018/global-warming-arctic-sea-ice-data-icebergs-ocean-shipping-oil-gas-drilling-grand-banks-newfoundland

[pscot]

1. Now the bastards are attacking the ice

with cannons.

[mr_lebowski]

2. I'm not sure there could possibly BE a better example of 'poetic justice' ... I'd almost hope for an

iceberg of epic size to just rip through a huge conglomeration of drilling rigs, ripping dozens of them from their moorings ... causing billions in damage ...

I don't, though, as that would endanger workers, potentially massively pollute our seas, kill ocean critters, and quite possibly raise the price of fuel which I can't afford ATM.

But if it DID happen ... I might not cry too much just because of how perfectly apros-pos it would be.

And it MIGHT just wake a number of stupid assholes right the F UP.

Not even the STUPIDEST person could ignore the symbolism involved in something like happening.