Image - British Antarctic Survey
If not long ago we told you that an eerie crack had formed on the Larsen C PlatformOn the Antarctic continent, this time we bring you what will probably be one of the latest news about this gigantic ice shelf.
Its breaking point is now closer than ever: just 13 kilometers, after it was expanded another 17km between May 25 and May 31, according to observations from the MIDAS project.
Researchers Adrian Luckman and Martin O'Leary indicated May 31 in the blog from the MIDAS project that the tip of the crack had turned significantly towards the ice front, which seems to indicate that the moment of rupture is very close. In that case, the largest iceberg in recent decades would form.
Furthermore, it is estimated that it could have an area of 5.000 square kilometers. In comparison, the island of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) has 3.640km2, and believe me, I who live on it can say that it is very large. It takes one hour and twenty minutes to travel from the southern tip of the island, at the Ses Salines Lighthouse, to the northern tip (Pollensa), which is approximately 85km.
Thus, the Larsen C Platform could lose more than 10% of its current area. But in addition, the researchers do not rule out that the formation of the iceberg triggers an ice breakdown of greater proportions, as happened in 2002 with the practical disintegration of the Larsen B Platform.
All this ice would of course end up in the sea, causing the level to rise. Very little, yes, but as the planet warms, at the end of the century human beings living on planet Earth may well be forced to make new maps.