...NASA scientists (click here) monitoring the ancient ice sheet — formerly known as the Larsen B Ice Shelf — were startled by the sudden collapse; never had the researchers witnessed so much ice disappear so quickly.
They did have some warning, though. In the months preceding the collapse, the shelf's surface had become riddled with more than 2,000 meltwater lakes — large pools of melted ice and snow that form on the surfaces of ice shelves during the summer melting season. These seasonal reservoirs can contain more than a million tons of water apiece and, according to a new study published today (Feb. 13) in the journal Nature Communications, may actually be able to bend portions of huge ice shelves so much that they break in half, ushering in their spectacular demise....
February 28, 2019
By Kevin Anderton
In West Antarctica, (click here) an iceberg about twice the size of New York City is about to break away from the main continent. The area is known as the Brunt Ice Shelf, it’s about 492 feet thick, and the part of it that is in danger of breaking off is about 660 square miles. The question is not whether or not the ice shelf will break but whether or not it will be held in place by the land underneath....
By Kevin Anderton
In West Antarctica, (click here) an iceberg about twice the size of New York City is about to break away from the main continent. The area is known as the Brunt Ice Shelf, it’s about 492 feet thick, and the part of it that is in danger of breaking off is about 660 square miles. The question is not whether or not the ice shelf will break but whether or not it will be held in place by the land underneath....
