ANTARCTICA -- A giant iceberg about double the size of the famous New York City is threatening to break off from the Brunt Ice Shelf. The initial cracks were first noticed by researchers back in 2016, two more large cracks in the next few months might just be what it needs to separate completely. The research team in the Antarctic has been relocated as the rift between the icebergs seems to enter its final phase.
The iceberg that will be formed from this separation will measure more than 1,500 sq km. It will also be about 150-250 meters in thickness. Researchers have kept a careful eye of the Brunt Ice Shelf, watching how it changes due to the effects of climate change. Back in 2012, they noticed that the crack that has been left dormant for almost 35 years suddenly became active again.
Chasm 1 as this first crack was known has only gone bigger in the last seven years. In October of 2016, as the first crack continues to widen, a second crack appeared. It was referred to by the scientists as the "Halloween Crack" because of the time when it was discovered. It was spotted at the Northern part of the iceberg perpendicular to where Chasm 1 was. A meeting of these two large cracks is likely and that could mean that a huge chunk of the Brunt ice Shelf will finally be separated.
As a response, the authorities decided to tow the Halley VI Research Facility inland with a distance of about 14 miles from its original location. They basically moved it to the other side of the crack to keep it from floating off with the iceberg that may soon separate.
The fateful meeting between these two cracks are set to happen in two months. While it may sound like the kind of disastrous situation that happens due to climate change, scientists are thinking about something else. Global warming may not be the usual suspect to this scenario.
"What many people don't know is that these kinds naturally happen. It has happened before and it may happen again and again today and in the future," says Hilmar Gudmundsson, an author that studies these events along with the scientists in the team. "We recognize how climate change has brought about huge problem in the world especially the Antarctic, but our research does not show that such cracks have been caused by climate change," he further added.
The research study is being considered by the journal The Cryosphere for publication and the team couldn't be happier to share this new discovery with everyone.
