MASSIVE CRACKING IN THE ARCTIC
According to NASA scientists, a massive crack is now growing wider and wider in the Arctic's ice sheet, and for many, this could break apart in the coming days or months, forming a huge iceberg the size of New York City.
The crack is in the western part of Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier stretching
for at least 30 kilometers and it runs 165 feet deep.
Observers say that the rift is widening at a rate of 6.5 feet (two meters) a day, according to NASA project scientist Michael Studinger.
A SCIENTIST'S PROGNOSIS
When this thing happen (the ice breaks apart), it will then produce an iceberg more than 340 square miles (880 square kilometers, but the process is not a result of global warming, he said.
Adding that later this year or early next year there will be a pretty large iceberg forming as part of a natural cycle," he added.
"These are but cyclical events that occur every few years. The last big carving event occurred in 2001, so in general people have been expecting something to happen like that sooner or later.
A LITTLE HISTORICAL GLIMPSE
This rift was first glimpsed in late September by scientists monitoring changes in the ice shelf via an airplane flyovers in order to fill in the gaps left between a pair of satellites, 1st satellite ended in 2009, and the 2nd satellite to be launched in 2016.
EXCITING OR NOT?
"A lot of times when you're in science, you don't get a chance to catch the big stories as they happen because you're not there at the right place at the right time," said John Sonntag, instrument team lead for Operation IceBridge, based at Goddard Space Flight Center.
"For us it is very exciting to actually see this while it is happening."
MY POINT OF VIEW
To many, especially now that we see calamities happen, rising sea levels, flooding everywhere, I myself should say that this thing has something to do with global warming. Melting ice sheets due to the increasing heat and the rising levels of green house gases, will lead us to more catastrophic events in the near future. It is deemed necessary for us to be focused, and try our very best and help one another in saving what is left.
