Antarctica gives birth to world's largest iceberg

[Gerald]

(Reuters) -A giant slab of ice bigger than the Spanish island of Majorca has sheared off from the frozen edge of Antarctica into the Weddell Sea, becoming the largest iceberg afloat in the world, the European Space Agency said on Wednesday.

The newly calved berg, designated A-76 by scientists, was spotted in recent satellite images captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, the space agency said in a statement posted on its website with a photo of the enormous, oblong ice sheet.

Its surface area spans 4,320 square km (1,668 square miles) and measures 175 km (106 miles) long by 25 km (15 miles) wide.

By comparison, Spain’s tourist island of Majorca in the Mediterranean occupies 3,640 square km (1,405 square miles). The U.S. state of Rhode Island is smaller still, with a land mass of just 2,678 square km (1,034 square miles).

https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN2D1010

A huge bugger!
Enough for many ice cubes in strong drink!

[mapuc]

Wonder how many million liters of water there are in this bugger

Markus

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by mapuc

Wonder how many million liters of water there are in this bugger

Markus

I think a bit more than millions Markus.

[mapuc]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

I think a bit more than millions Markus.

Guess you are right

Another thing

How much will the water level have risen when all that ice has melted ?
Are we talking about millimeters or decimeters ?

Markus

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by mapuc

Guess you are right

Another thing

How much will the water level have risen when all that ice has melted ?
Are we talking about millimeters or decimeters ?

Markus

I doubt it has risen very much but there is still some uncertainty about the full volume of glaciers and ice caps on Earth, but if all of them were to melt, global sea level would rise approximately 70 meters (approximately 230 feet), flooding every coastal city on the planet.

[em2nought]

Seems like a good reason to throw ten or twenty trillion dollars away to me.

[Rockstar]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

I doubt it has risen very much but there is still some uncertainty about the full volume of glaciers and ice caps on Earth, but if all of them were to melt, global sea level would rise approximately 70 meters (approximately 230 feet), flooding every coastal city on the planet.

Interesting point about that is there is evidence to suggest sea levels have been that high before. I've always said buy some cheap Appalachian property today because it just may be prime beach front real estate tomorrow.

[mapuc]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

I doubt it has risen very much but there is still some uncertainty about the full volume of glaciers and ice caps on Earth, but if all of them were to melt, global sea level would rise approximately 70 meters (approximately 230 feet), flooding every coastal city on the planet.

I think you misunderstod my comments

I was talking about this huge iceberg not the entire ice on our planet.

When it has melted how much would the sea level gone up.

Markus

[Von Due]

Originally Posted by mapuc

When it has melted how much would the sea level gone up.

Markus

Not much. Displacement and all that. The ice floating in the oceans won't do much if they melt. The ice on land on the other hand...

[Sean C]

Originally Posted by mapuc

When it has melted how much would the sea level gone up.

Markus

Yes, as Von Due said: the level of the oceans will not rise at all. The ice shelf from which the berg broke was already floating on the water.


It's just like when you put some ice in a glass and fill it right to the brim with water. Come back when the ice has melted and how much has overflowed? None - because the displacement doesn't change.


What gets me is how "Ted Scambos, a research glaciologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder" is so sure that this has nothing to do with global warming, because this sort of thing happens all the time. Even though no one seems to be able to fully explain (or even agree on) "global warming" or "climate change" or whatever we're calling it now.



Let's just all ignore the fact that the climate has also been changing since ... as far back as we can measure. No - that's all our fault.


You can't tax a glacier - or a land mass that no one claims as theirs.


Just sayin'.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by mapuc

I think you misunderstod my comments

I was talking about this huge iceberg not the entire ice on our planet.

When it has melted how much would the sea level gone up.

Markus

I knew what you meant Markus, hence the first part of my reply "I doubt it has risen very much"