Iceberg that's twice the size of Washington cleaves off Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica, in a sign
Source: Washington Post
Capital Weather Gang
Iceberg that's twice the size of Washington cleaves off Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica, in a sign of warming
By Andrew Freedman
Editor focusing on extreme weather, climate change, science and the environment.
February 10 at 11:42 AM
An iceberg about twice the size of the District of Columbia broke off Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica sometime between Feb. 8 and 9, satellite data shows, confirming yet another in a series of increasingly frequent calving events in this rapidly warming region.
The Pine Island Glacier is one of the fastest-retreating glaciers in Antarctica, and along with the Thwaites Glacier nearby, it's a subject of close scientific monitoring to determine whether these glaciers are in a phase of runaway melting, potentially freeing up vast inland areas of ice to flow to the sea and raising sea levels.
According to NASA, the region surrounding the Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers contains enough "highly vulnerable ice" to raise global sea levels by about 4 feet.
{snip tweets}
The new iceberg from Pine Island did not last long as a single chunk of ice, instead breaking off into smaller pieces that will gradually head out to sea. But this behavior is consistent with recent studies of this glacier.
{snip}
Andrew Freedman
Andrew Freedman edits and reports on extreme weather and climate science for the Capital Weather Gang. He has covered science, with a specialization in climate research and policy, for Axios, Mashable, Climate Central, E&E Daily and other publications. Follow https://twitter.com/Afreedma
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/02/10/iceberg-thats-twice-size-washington-cleaves-off-pine-island-glacier-antarctica-sign-warming/
DC, not state.
Botany
(70,581 posts)Good bye lower Manhattan, Norfolk VA, Key Largo, coastal Georgia, the Marshall Islands,
and ....
Years ago when Reagan took over the White House one of the 1st things he did was to remove
the primitive solar panels on the White House. Where would we be and how many billions of
tons of carbon wouldn't have been put into the earth's atmosphere if we had stayed the course
for "green energy?"
Miguelito Loveless
(4,473 posts)where we would be today if Carter had one a second term?
Republicans have so much to answer for.
Polybius
(15,476 posts)I'm sure another Republican crazy would have won in 1984.
MissMillie
(38,580 posts)that Antarctica reported a record high temperature of 65 degrees?
Bengus81
(6,932 posts)Scalded Nun
(1,239 posts)Yeah, that would include 'W' and the orange asshat as well. Those 3 people, along with their handlers and followers, have inflicted damage upon this nation and its citizens we may never recover from.
Piasladic
(1,160 posts)Air.
I don't care as much about the food lines being cut off, the pillaging, or the rising sea; I worry about if I'll be able to breathe. The amount of CO2 released in arctic melt, the destruction of rain forests...et cetera- that's my fear.
Gore1FL
(21,151 posts)I didn't know if it meant the size of 2 DCs (It did), 2 States, or 2 people!
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Bengus81
(6,932 posts)Make my day almost as much as the coming day when his death hits the news.
llashram
(6,265 posts)in such danger, not to mention children, grandchildren and... And no one capable of stopping our destruction won't unless there are more public displays of opposition.