Scientists indicate that the recent loss of a massive ice shelf in Antarctica is not related to climate change, but the consequences of this event could accelerate ice melting.
The Australian Antarctic Division, part of the Department of Environment and Energy of Australia, reported that the iceberg that broke away from Antarctica measures approximately 50 kilometers in length and nearly 30 kilometers in width. The iceberg is named D-28, covering a total area of about 1,636 square kilometers, according to The Guardian.
Observers noted that D-28 completely separated from the Amery Ice Shelf, located on the eastern side of the Antarctic continent, on September 26. The size of the iceberg is comparable to that of London, the capital of England.
The ice shelf is a large mass of ice attached to the Antarctic continent but extends out into the ocean. The thickness of ice shelves typically ranges from 50 to 600 meters, according to the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center.
Iceberg D-28 was detected breaking away from the Amery Ice Shelf by the European Union’s Copernicus satellite program on September 25. (Photo: The Guardian).
This is the largest calving event ever recorded in the Amery Ice Shelf area since the period of 1963-1964. Scientists believe that this incident may not be linked to climate change.
The phenomenon occurred in an area likened to a “wobbly tooth” of Antarctica. Observers have long noted the weak connections at the Amery Ice Shelf. Scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division, the Antarctic and Ocean Research Institute, and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have collaborated to monitor this region for the past 20 years.
Helen Amanda Fricker, a professor at Scripps, stated that she and her colleagues first discovered cracks at the front of the ice shelf in the early 2000s. At that time, scientists predicted a large-scale ice break would occur between 2010 and 2015.
“I am quite excited to finally see this event after many years. We knew it would happen eventually, but we were all anxious waiting to see exactly where it would occur,” she said.
Amery is the third-largest ice shelf in Antarctica, situated between two Australian research stations, Davies and Mawson.
Location of the Amery Ice Shelf in eastern Antarctica. (Photo: Geophysical Research Journal (GRJ)).
Researchers have been studying the Antarctic ice shelves since the 1960s. Many instruments have been deployed to study the impact of melting ice and sea level rise.
“The calving event is part of the normal lifecycle of an ice shelf. We have seen many large-scale separations occur cyclically every 60-70 years,” Fricker commented.
Ben Galton-Fenzi, a glacier research expert from the Australian Antarctic Division, noted that the separation at Amery was discovered through satellite imagery.
“This event will not directly impact sea levels as the ice shelf was already floating on the water, much like a stone in your glass of water,” Galton-Fenzi explained.
“What needs to be investigated is whether the loss of such a large area of ice will affect the process of melting the remaining ice underneath the ice shelf and how quickly ice can flow off the continent,” he emphasized.
