In Middle Of Southern Winter, Larsen C Crack Growing At Fastest Rate Yet Observed
A crack spreading inexorably across the Larsen C Ice Shelf in northwest Antarctica has surged forward at record rates, bringing the ice shelf closer to cleaving off an iceberg roughly the size of Delaware. If this occurs, it would be one of the largest icebergs ever observed and could leave the ice shelf behind it in a precarious state, more vulnerable to melting from both relatively mild ocean waters encroaching on the ice from underneath, as well as increasing air temperatures melting ice from above
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In a June 28 blog post, the scientists report: "...The soon-to-be-iceberg part of [the] Larsen C Ice Shelf has tripled in speed to more than ten meters per day between 24th and 27th June 2017." This means that the crack has moved at least 33 feet per day during the course of this 4-day period. This is "the highest speed ever recorded on this ice shelf," according to the researchers. Predicting the exact date that the iceberg will cleave off from the Antarctic continent is tricky, however, since it still remains attached to the ice shelf, but just barely.
"The iceberg remains attached to the ice shelf, but its outer end is moving at the highest speed ever recorded on this ice shelf," researchers wrote. "We still can’t tell when calving will occur — it could be hours, days or weeks — but this is a notable departure from previous observations."
The satellite scientists are depending on to detect changes in the progression of the fissure is known as Sentinel-1, a project of the European Space Agency. This satellite is able to detect subtle changes in ground movements and is used for both studying melting glaciers and ice shelves as well as earthquakes and other geological phenomena. According to Project MIDAS scientists, the most recent data do not cover the tip of the ice rift, but a low resolution image taken just after midnight on June 28 "shows clearly that the iceberg remains attached to the ice shelf at its western end — for now."
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http://mashable.com/2017/06/28/antarctica-iceberg-larsen-c-ice-shelf/#Q2O4c28DHOqY
