Based on satellite data, experts have discovered the fastest widening crack in history at the Pine Island Glacier’s ice shelf.
Scientists at the University of Washington have found evidence of the fastest glacier crack ever recorded, IFL Science reported on March 1. The crack, measuring 10.5 kilometers long, runs through an ice shelf in Antarctica at a speed of up to 35 meters per second, equivalent to about 128.7 kilometers per hour. This new research has been published in the journal AGU Advances.
Satellite images from May 8 (left) and May 11 (right) in 2012 show the new crack forming a Y-shaped branch to the left of the old crack. (Image: Olinger/AGU Advances).
The research team observed this record-breaking crack appearing in 2012 at the ice shelf of the Pine Island Glacier, the fastest melting glacier in Antarctica, accounting for about 25% of the ice loss on the continent. They made this discovery based on data from instruments placed on the ice shelf and radar observations from satellites.
“To our knowledge, this is the fastest widening crack ever observed,” said Stephanie Olinger, the lead author of the study.
A rift is a crack that runs through an ice shelf. They are often a precursor to the phenomenon of ice shelf disintegration – when large ice blocks break off from the glacier and drift out to sea. Other cracks in Antarctica may form over months or years. However, the new study shows that this process can also occur in a short moment, especially in the continent’s vulnerable areas.
This event indicates that, under certain circumstances, ice shelves can fracture rapidly. It also suggests that we need to pay attention to such activities in the future, while informing us on how to describe such cracks in large-scale ice sheet models,” Olinger explained.
Understanding the glacier disintegration process can help scientists gain a better understanding of the effects of climate change on ice sheets. Glacier ice may appear solid when considered in the short term, but in the long term, it behaves like a flowing liquid.
“Before we can improve the effectiveness of large-scale ice sheet models and refine predictions about future sea level rise, we must have a solid physical understanding of the processes affecting ice shelf stability,” Olinger remarked.
