Collision Of Colossal Icebergs Said Imminent...

drudgereport.com/nasa ^ | 1/10/05 | NASA

[bitt]

'It is an event so large that the best seat in the house is in space: a massive iceberg is on a collision course with a floating glacier near the McMurdo Research Station in Antarctica. NASA satellites have witnessed the 100-mile-long B-15A iceberg moving steadily towards the Drygalski Ice Tongue. Though the iceberg's pace has slowed in recent days, NASA scientists expect a collision to occur no later than January 15, 2005.'

[bitt]

neat graphics, too!

[SaveTheChief]

Run for cover!

[CounterCounterCulture]

OH THE HUMANITY!!!

[Brian328i]

Throw some coal in between them and make a few diamonds ><

[COEXERJ145]

It's all Bush's fault for not signing Kyoto. /sarcasm

[VeritatisSplendor]

Very cool. I looked at the picture and thought "that's so big it's like Long Island NY (where I grew up) crashing into Antarctica." Then I scrolled down and saw that they had had the exact same thought and superposed Long Island on the graphic!

[reagan_fanatic]

DOOMED!!!

[rface]

I guess there is not enough global warming to stop this disaster

[CounterCounterCulture]

moving steadily towards the Drygalski Ice Tongue

Ewwwwww! Hillary Clinton porn
;p

[oceanview]

hey, if ice breaks off and falls into the ocean - could it generate a tsunami?

[Pharmboy]

Do Freepers have a rooting interest here?

[John W]

I'm for the tongue.

[bitt]

these guys might care a little...
"McMurdo Research Station in Antarctica"
http://astro.uchicago.edu/cara/vtour/mcmurdo/

[superskunk]

Better yet - could it generate 'the day after tomorrow' scenario?

[FourPeas]

Do Freepers have a rooting interest here?

Oh, now THAT'S an interesting question? ;)

[blam]

"hey, if ice breaks off and falls into the ocean - could it generate a tsunami?"

You bet.

At the end of the Ice Age...tsunami's were rampant from all the crashing ice.

[bitt]

[Pharmboy]

LOL!! (No sh*t)

[CounterCounterCulture]

The Iceberg is also compared to the size of Long Island, New York.

cool

[oldbrowser]

Icewater tsunami ?

[blam]

[bitt]

'what's a cubit'?

[GSlob]

Well, evacuate all the penguins. Women and minorities are to be the hardest hit anyway, as usual.

[Palladin]

ROFL! Too funny!

[pierrem15]

You didn't post it under "Breaking News".

[Naspino]

At the end of the Ice Age...tsunami's were rampant from all the crashing ice.

I watched Ice Age all the way through and there was no tsunami. ;)

[patton]

Well, it's about three feet - never mind that. Build a BIG boat.

[missyme]

OF COURSE :)

[steve86]

The Iceberg is also compared to the size of Long Island, New York.

If global warming gets bad enough Long island will break off and crash into Greenland. But it will be a tropical paradise.

[bitt]

all iceberg collision emergency funds can be directed to my VERY SECURE site, "IcebergThatLooksLikeLongIslandDisasterReliefFund.com"

[SamAdams76]

I got $100 on B-15A but my bookie says the line is currently moving the Ice Tongue's way. That's fine with me. I've got a hunch that B-15A is going to kick some serious butt and put me in the winner's circle. So I'm putting some champagne on ice.

[missyme]

So what can we expect when they collide?

[Pharmboy]

'what's a cubit'?

Ahh...so you've never built an ark.

[wolf24]

Are there any other imminent collisions due? I'm thinking about a parlay bet.

[Pharmboy]

Hey...the 'Sox won the Series. It could happen.

[PhiKapMom]

Thank you -- I was waiting for someone to ask that question -- what happens when they collide?

[steve86]

what happens when they collide?

If y'all are talking about the icebergs the full article gives some possible scenarios.

[midnightson]

The pic looks alot like the Eskimo villages I travel/work in.

[Pharmboy]

Well, as you can see, it appears that most Freeper money is going to cover The Tongue.

[cajungirl]

where is jack bauer when we really need him?

[eccentric]

Fascinating. I learn something new each day. :)

Hey, let's send Dan Rather down there to get some live pictures!

[missyme]

Is that a good thing?

[Pharmboy]

"It's a clash of the titans, a radical and uncommon event," says Robert Bindshadler, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and if the two giant slabs of ice collide, we could see one of the best demolition derbies on the planet. "Even a 'tap' from a giant can be powerful. It will certainly be a blow far larger than anything else the ice tongue has ever experienced," says Bindshadler.

When the iceberg and the ice tongue collide, the impact will likely "dent their bumpers," says Bindshadler. The edges could crumple and ice could pile or drift into the Ross Sea. But if the B-15A iceberg picks up enough speed before the two collide, the results could be more spectacular. The Drygalski Ice Tongue could break off.

The ice tongue is thick ice that grows out over the Ross Sea from a land-based glacier on Antarctica's Scott Coast. "Ice tongues do break off on occasion," says Bindshadler. "It would only take one thin area on the ice tongue to make it break off." There's no guarantee that the Drygalski Ice Tongue will break off, but "this is the toughest blow it has ever had to deal with."

"That Ice tongue has no reason for staying intact" says Waleed Abdalati, researcher with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, but Bindshadler points out, it may not break up either. The results depend on the movement of the B-15A iceberg.

The B-15A iceberg is a 3,000-square-kilometer (1,200-square-mile) behemoth that has a history of causing problems. It is the largest fragment of a much larger iceberg that broke away from the Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000. Scientists believe that the enormous piece of ice broke away as part of a long-term natural cycle (every 50-to-100 years, or so) in which the shelf, which is roughly the size of Texas, sheds pieces much as human fingernails grow and break off.

[bitt]

"NOAH!!!!

[Barney59]

I have always loved shaved ice...

[missyme]

If the collision occurs as predicted, this could be an event that we witness again and again. The tides that drive the iceberg's motion tend to push it in circles. "If B-15A bangs the ice tongue once, it could bang it again," says Bindshadler. With multiple daily views of the Ross Sea, NASA satellites will be there to watch the show.


I guess it will just be a great ice show?

[Next_Time_NJ]

WE ARE DOOMED!

[patton]

"who is this, really?"

[bitt]

and a bit like New England right now...
:^)
I would imagine it is more than several miles between villages...? Do you fly?

[John W]

"If B-15A bangs the ice tongue once, it could bang it again,"

Nah, too easy.