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Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumGiant 'white wanderer' poised to break free
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40492957
Giant 'white wanderer' poised to break free
Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent
1 hour ago
From the section Science & Environment
(snip)
A rift has grown across the edge of the Larsen C Ice Shelf. A thin, 5km-long section of the floating shelf is now all that prevents a 6,600-sq-km berg from drifting away into the Weddell Sea. Think about the size for a moment. That's more than a quarter the area of Wales. Keen to gather some more statistics, scientists have used the Cryosat spacecraft to run the rule over the putative iceberg.
(snip)
Dr Gourmelen says there is an estimated 1,155 cubic km of ice in the would-be berg. This is all very useful information because it tells scientists a lot about where and how fast the Larsen object might move once it becomes free. And those are critical details if the berg were to reach shipping lanes to become a navigation hazard.
(snip)
The waters close to Antarctica are shallow and there's a good chance the berg will dig in, gouging a huge trough in the seafloor as it then turns round. Cryosat's thickness information tells researchers where the berg can and cannot go.
(snip)
The expectation, however, is that the berg will bump and grind its way northward in near-coast currents, along the Peninsula. Past history suggests it will eventually be exported on one of four major iceberg "highways" that lead beyond Antarctica. In this instance, the route is one that sends the berg into the circumpolar current and on to an eastward arc towards the South Atlantic.
(snip)
Indeed, the only reason we know this new Larsen berg is about to calve is because Europe's Sentinel-1 radar satellites take a detailed look at the shelf's behaviour every six days.
(snip)
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Giant 'white wanderer' poised to break free (Original Post)
nitpicker
Jul 2017
OP
trusty elf
(7,394 posts)1. The Chinese are going to incredible lengths
to perpetrate and perpetuate this hoax!
rpannier
(24,329 posts)2. Bugs Bunny was able to saw away Florida with a hand saw
The Chinese have much more advanced techniques now
padah513
(2,502 posts)3. I remember that!
Thanks for starting off my day with a laugh!
Response to trusty elf (Reply #1)
The Wielding Truth This message was self-deleted by its author.
Orrex
(63,212 posts)5. I can't be the only one who thought that this headline was about Trump
The Blue Flower
(5,442 posts)6. You are not
QED
(2,747 posts)7. That was my first thought too.
rpannier
(24,329 posts)8. I thought il duce or christie
I nestled in my chair preparing for some satire!