3 November 2011
The PIG has A Problem- Pine Island Glacier In Antarctica Develops Huge Crack
Posted by Dan Satterfield
Big news from Antarctica, where it is very early spring. The Pine Island Glacier has developed a huge crack and is being monitored closely. NASA has a great video with the details:
It’s normal for ice shelves break off icebergs as they reach the sea, but the rate they do so is of intense interest to those who are studying the climate of Antarctica. If this crack breaks off, then a berg of over 800 square kilometers will be floating off the coast. Researchers say this will be the biggest recession of the PIG since the 1940’s when it was first observed. More details here.
Dan:
Excellent video of science in action!
Hmmm, is it 800,000 km2 or 800 km2 ? It sounded in the video like he said 800.
OOOps. I think it is 800 Chuck- checking on that.
Where did I get those three orders of magnitude! It is 800 ( around 880 actually) and I have corrected the post- thanks for catching that Chuck!