Recent reports that a chunk of the Antarctic ice shelf Larsen C has broken of are common, resulting in an iceberg twice the size of Luxembourg. But in this report from the European Space Agency (ESA), I found this chunk interesting:
The loss of such a large piece is of interest because ice shelves along the peninsula play an important role in ‘buttressing’ glaciers that feed ice seaward, effectively slowing their flow.
Previous events further north on the Larsen A and B shelves, captured by ESA’s ERS and Envisat satellites, indicate that when a large portion of an ice shelf is lost, the flow of glaciers behind can accelerate, contributing to sea-level rise.
Which naturally leads to the question, How fast! How fast! Does Miami go under next week?
Equally seriously, does this affect the Emperor penguins, the stars of this documentary? And don’t confuse that documentary with this video.
