Why was it shocking of Larsen B ice shelf?
A succession of unusually warm summers had increased the amount of melt water on the surface of the ice, which then wedged open crevasses in the ice, weakening and ultimately breaking up the shelf. The Larsen B ice is gone forever, but it left behind questions that scientists are now trying to answer in more detail.
What happens if the ice sheets collapse?
Collapsing ice shelves lead the surrounding glaciers to drain into the ocean, which contributes to the rising sea level that scientists say one day could put hundreds of millions of people living in coastal areas in danger.
What causes ice shelf collapse?
What causes an ice shelf to collapse? Scientists attributed rapid ice shelf collapse to warmer air and water temperatures, as well as increased melt on the ice shelf surface. Retreating sea ice may also play a role. Warm air melts the ice shelf surface, forming ponds of meltwater.
What are the possible impacts to the environment and mankind if the ice shelves collapse?
The consequences of this collapse are several: the loss of a rare ecosystem, the potential acceleration of glaciers into the ocean leading to further sea level rise, and the formation of new drifting ice islands resulting from the calving.
When did the Larsen ice shelf break off?
When an iceberg, more than nine times the size of Mumbai in India, split off from Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf July 10-12, 2017, the scientific fraternity dived in to look for answers. Researchers had attributed the phenomenal event, not to climate change, but to ice-shelf dynamics.
What is happening to the Larsen ice shelf?
In 2015, a study concluded that the remaining Larsen B ice-shelf will disintegrate by 2020, based on observations of faster flow and rapid thinning of glaciers in the area. Larsen B was stable for at least 10,000 years, essentially the entire Holocene period since the last glacial period.
What do you consider will be the most important consequences of ice shelf collapse for Antarctic marine ecosystems?
The rapid thinning, retreat, and collapse of ice shelves along the Antarctic Peninsula are harbingers of warming effects around the entire continent. The thinning and rate of future ice-shelf demise is notoriously unpredictable, but models suggest increased shelf-melt and calving will become more common.
What is glacier collapse?
In regions like the Himalaya, the problem of rising temperatures is three-fold: it leads to the melting of mountain glaciers, which can spark floods. It also decreases glacial coverage, which leads to a reduction in the long-term availability of water for people, agriculture, and hydropower.