In the western part of Antarctica, a crack has formed inside the ice sheet, this explains the fact that large ones are increasingly breaking off from it, which leads to its destruction, according to the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
From the words of the American expert Ian Howat - today there is no doubt that the ice sheet in the west of Antarctica will melt and it is only a matter of time. The formation of such cracks leads to the retreat of the glacier at an apparently high speed, which adds to the likelihood that the current generation of humanity will witness the destruction of this ice sheet.
Ian and his colleagues drew such conclusions by studying satellite photographs that were captured in July 2015, at a time when a huge iceberg broke away from the West Shield, whose area is 582 km2.
Photographs and heat maps of the glacier were obtained by the Sentinel and Landsat 8 probes, prompting experts to believe that the formation of such a large iceberg occurred due to deep processes occurring at the foot of the glacial massif.
To make sure that this theory is correct, climatologists studied satellite photographs in detail several years before the catastrophic break-off and photographs for the last year, in addition, expeditions were carried out to the very area of Antarkiki, where, presumably, the cause of the formation of the iceberg was formed.
The experts analyzed only those photos that were taken at sunsets and dawns, at a time when the sun's rays illuminate the surface of Antarctica as much as possible. This contributed to the high contrast of the images and to reveal the reason for the formation of the giant iceberg - these are two huge cracks that went into the ice in the central region of the ice mass.
As further examinations of the data showed, both one and the second fault appeared about 2-3 years ago, continuing to increase every year by about 14 km in length and 110 m in width.
The reason for the formation of cracks is an increase in the temperature of the water that washed the lower part of the glacier. This led to the formation of a certain cavity, where a void was subsequently formed, which eventually forced the glacier to fall inward.
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Scientists are deeply concerned that such phenomena occur in other areas of the glacial massif.