Antarctic ice has million reasons to walk away

[PunkTheFunk 125,734]

Climate change ha impact; Titanic ha revenge 

"An iceberg expected to be one of the 10 largest ever recorded is ready to break away from Antarctica, scientists say.

You're giving me a million reasons to let you go
You're giving me a million reasons to quit the show
You're givin' me a million reasons
Give me a million reasons
Givin' me a million reasons
About a million reasons

A long-running rift in the Larson C ice shelf grew suddenly in December and now just 20km of ice is keeping the 5,000 sq km piece from floating away. Larsen C is the most northern major ice shelf in Antarctica. Researchers based in Swansea say the loss of a piece a quarter of the size of Wales will leave the whole shelf vulnerable to future break-up.

I've got a hundred million reasons to float away
But baby, I just 20 kilometres of ice to stay

Larsen C is about 350m thick and floats on the seas at the edge of West Antarctica, holding back the flow of glaciers that feed into it.

Researchers have been tracking the rift in Larsen C for many years, watching it with some trepidation after the collapse of Larsen A ice shelf in 1995 and the sudden break-up of the Larsen B shelf in 2002.

Last year, researchers from the UK's Project Midas reported that the Larsen C rift was growing fast 

But in December the speed of the rift went into overdrive, growing by a further 18km in just a couple of weeks. What will become a massive iceberg now hangs on to the shelf by a thread just 20km long.

If I had an iceberg, I would run for the hills
If you could find an iceberg, I'd forever be still
But you're giving me a million reasons
Give me a million reasons
Givin' me a million reasons
About a million reasons

"If it doesn't go in the next few months, I'll be amazed," project leader Prof Adrian Luckman, from Swansea University, told BBC News.

"There hasn't been enough cloud-free Landsat images but we've managed to combine a pair of Esa Sentinel-1 radar images to notice this extension, and it's so close to calving that I think it's inevitable."

Prof Luckman says the area that will break off will be about 5,000 sq km, a size he says that would put the iceberg among the top 10 biggest that have been recorded.

The researchers say that this is a geographical and not a climate event. The rift has been present for decades, they say, but it has punched through at this particular time.

It is believed that climate warming has brought forward the likely separation of the iceberg but the scientists say they have no direct evidence to support this.

I bow down to pray
While our only Earth overheats
Lord, show me the way
To cut through all his worn out icesheets

However, they are concerned about how any break-off will impact the rest of the ice shelf, given that its neighbour, Larsen B, disintegrated spectacularly in 2002 following a similar large calving event.

"We are convinced, although others are not, that the remaining ice shelf will be less stable than the present one," said Prof Luckman. "We would expect in the ensuing months to years further calving events, and maybe an eventual collapse - but it's a very hard thing to predict, and our models say it will be less stable; not that it will immediately collapse or anything like that."

As it floats on the sea, the resulting iceberg from the shelf will not raise sea levels. But if the shelf breaks up even more, it could result in glaciers that flow off the land behind it to speed up their passage towards the ocean. This non-floating ice would have an impacT on sea levels.

Head stuck in an iceberg, I look off and I stare
It's like I'm in an iceberg, but completely aware
'Cause you're giving me a million reasons
Give me a million reasons
Givin' me a million reasons
About a million reasons

According to estimates, if all the ice that the Larsen C shelf currently holds back entered the sea, global waters would rise by 10cm.

All that is very much in the future. There are few certainties right now apart from an imminent change to the outline of Antarctica's icy coast.

Baby I'm freezin', freezin'
Stay
Can't you give me what I'm needin', needin'

"The eventual consequences might be the ice shelf collapsing in years to decades," said Prof Luckman, "Even the sea level contribution of this area is not on anybody's radar; it's just a big geographical event that will change the landscape there."

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38522954

[Decodekid 31,005]

so we gone drown in a future?

[Saint Hollywood 37,364]

 the earth is going to become a big sauna not long from now 

[Smarticle 3,178]

Queen of incorporating MR lyrics to make an environmental thread relatable to Gaga fans. It definitely kept me reading 

 

[ryanripley 86,575]

pretending i understand the op

[ItsTommyBitch 12,640]

Gaga better take your version and rerelease MR  If shes gonna be a hippie farmer, she might as well add tree-hugger to the list  #ComeToMama3rdSingle

[August Blue 8,566]

Iconic thread 

[Seeka 12,372]

Honestly reminds me of really horrible songfics.

[PunkTheFunk 125,734]

Just now, Smarticle said:

Queen of incorporating MR lyrics to make an environmental thread relatable to Gaga fans.

I tried to make the information as easy to digest as possible 

1 minute ago, ryanripley said:

pretending i understand the op

Tried and failed apparently

[TSUNAMI 21,306]

I live for this title. 

[ryanripley 86,575]

Just now, PunkTheFunk said:

I tried to make the information as easy to digest as possible 

Tried and failed apparently

sis at least everyone isn't calling you a whale

[TSUNAMI 21,306]

5 minutes ago, Decodekid said:

so we gone drown in a future?

 

[weed 79,306]

I hope I live long enough to see antarctica fall apart bc I'm still shook by that gravitational mass beneath the ice 

[Smarticle 3,178]

Just now, Parach said:

 

Gaga saving us from rising sea levels like

[HOTNebraskaGuy 19,547]

Gaga can be the first person to step foot on the snowless and iceless land of Antarctica ha impact