A change in ocean currents may have snapped one of the largest icebergs in half.
The rectangular shape of the ice mass made it known as a tabular Iceberg. It was the size of Delaware, covering 2,300 square miles and dumping 1 trillion tons of meltwater into the ocean over a three year period. Scientists did not know why A68a broke apart.
Satellite imagery and data were used to travel back in time to December 2020 when the finger-shaped iceberg experienced two breakdown events.
After passing by South Georgia Island, A68a began fracturing, with a large chunk breaking off as a result of the ice being dragged on the floor, however the second event befuddled experts since the ice was floating in the ocean.
There was 1 trillion tons of water dumped into the ocean over 3 years.
After looking at the ocean current data, it seems reasonable to suppose that the fingerlike portion of the iceberg caused enough tension to snap it in half.
The second breakdown was thought to have been caused by "ocean-current shear" and a change in currents, something that hadn't previously been reported.
They looked at the ocean currents and wind to see how they could impact the iceberg. The team created a simulation of A86a using a model called iKID, and found that the bonds between the particles were very strong.
Huth said that the iceberg's fingerlike shape may have contributed to the fracturing.
Huth said that the main part of the break doesn't seem to follow along a pre-existing crack, so that's not conclusive.
Huth and his team believe that by studying the demise of A68a, they can get a better idea of how the world works.
"Icebergs represent 50% of the ice mass loss of Antarctica, which happens when they calve off of ice sheets," Huth said. meltwater is deposited far away from the sheets. This can influence ocean circulation by changing the water column, which can lead to an increase in the number of plants in the ocean.
It was originally published on Live Science
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