Iceberg Antarctica: An iceberg the size of Chicago breaks off, now adrift at sea

Iceberg Antarctica: An iceberg the size of Chicago breaks off, now adrift at sea, An iceberg in Antarctica, the size of the city of Chicago, has broken off of the Pine Island Glacier and is now drifting free in the Amundsen Sea. According to UPI.com on July 12, 2013, this iceberg in the Antarctica measures about 278 square miles.

The iceberg was spotted floating in the Antarctica by an earth-observing satellite operated by the German Space Agency. The satellite is called TerraSAR-X. A crack was discovered in this Antarctica iceberg back in October by NASA. The space agency did a fly over the Pine Island Glacier taking a survey of the ice sheet when a fracture in the ice was spotted.

In October the fracture was about 15 miles in length and 164 miles in width. Then a second fissure formed near the top side of the first crack, which was discovered back in May through satellite images.

While icebergs breaking off of the Pine Island Glacier is nothing new or rare. In 2007 and 2008 the Glacier saw two big icebergs severe and float away. This Glacier is the longest and fastest-changing on the West Antarctic Sheet.

According to researchers, serious consequences in the ecosystem can come out of this Glacier's rapid flow, as it "acts as a plug, holding back part of the immense West Antarctic Ice Sheet whose melting ice contributes to rising sea levels."

Iceberg Antarctica: An iceberg the size of Chicago breaks off, now adrift at sea 2013-07-12T08:45:00-07:00 Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: My Videos Tube