A giant iceberg broke off a glacier in Antarctica! Scientists are already talking about the consequences...

Larsen C is the only complete glacier in Antarctica. But he's already starting to crumble. Flying over the Larsen glacier in July, an American satellite recorded how iceberg broke off About 6,000 square kilometers in size. That's four times the size of London. Imagine that!





Scientists predict a variety of consequences of this phenomenon, but in addition, there were discovered previously unknown creatures. Editorial "Site" I decided to find out and tell you what caused the glacier to split and what consequences to expect.





The area of Antarctic sea ice as of January 1, 2019 decreased to a historical minimum of 5.47 million square kilometers. As the summer ice melt season continues for about two more months, the number could become even more dire. The world’s climate is changing and it’s hard to imagine what will happen in 10 years.

You can’t say that something unexpected happened. Scientists have been waiting for this event: they have been watching the growth of a crack in the Larsen C. Since 2014, the progress of the crack has accelerated, and the birth of a new giant iceberg looked like a matter of time. The reason for this was global warming, which not only creates cracks on glaciers, but also new lakes.





“At this stage, we don’t know if there’s any large-scale weakening of this zone, such as whether the ocean is undermining the ice shelf from below.” Or the current fault was just an inevitability that had to happen sooner or later, says Chris Burstad.





The new iceberg may be among the ten largest in history, although it is not comparable to the most giant monsters seen in Antarctica. At the moment, it does not pose much danger, but later currents and winds can carry it north, where it will threaten shipping.





Scientists from the UK warn that when the entire glacier collapses sea level It'll go up by as much as 10 centimeters! And rising water levels will pose a threat primarily to islands and states with long coastlines. According to them, it will be one of the largest events in the history of mankind.





Let’s move on to the most interesting discovery. The breakaway iceberg exposed an entire ecosystem. Scientists have found creatures previously unknown to science under the ice. On an area of 5,800 square kilometers in sea water found living creatures that were under the ice for about 120 thousand years.

But scientists can’t go into research right now, because an expert group is assembled every few months or even years. So the next expedition is planned for March 2019. Scientists hope that until then, living organisms will not disappear.





Some scientists have already begun to panic, because it is not known what the glaciers are hiding. It is possible that their depths are fraught not only with unprecedented creatures, but also with various viruses and diseases for which humanity is not ready.

We can only wait for the results of the study and observe the processes in Antarctica. Share the discovery of scientists with your friends in social networks!