Thanks fieldmarshaldj.
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Posted on 05/30/2019 9:30:41 AM PDT by ETL
The structure is an old tectonic boundary, probably formed during the birth of the Antarctic continent or shortly thereafter.
According to new research published May 27 [2019] in the journal Nature Geoscience, this boundary protects the ice shelf's grounding line, the point at which it is thick enough to extend all the way to the sea floor.
The geology created by the boundary keeps warm, melt-promoting ocean water away from that part of the shelf. But the ocean circulation driven by that same geology drives intense summer melt along the shelf's easterly edge.
"We could see that the geological boundary was making the seafloor on the East Antarctic side much deeper than the West, and that affects the way the ocean water circulates under the ice shelf," study leader Kirsty Tinto,... said in a statement. ..."
The newly discovered tectonic boundary bisecting the Ross ice shelf matters because it helps shape the seafloor beneath the ice.
To the east, the seafloor is deeper, at 2,198 feet (670 meters), on average. To the west, the average depth is 1,837 feet (560 m), on average. ..."
So what does it all mean for a warming Antarctic?
In the near future, the ice shelf's grounding line (the point at which it contacts the seafloor) should remain stable, at least in the face of moderate climate change, the researchers wrote.
But variations in local climate will have a big impact on how fast the front edge of the ice shelf melts.
These variations could include reductions in sea ice declines or cloud cover decreases, Laurie Padman, a senior scientist at Earth and Space Research in Oregon and study co-author, said in the statement.
"We found out that it's these local processes we need to understand to make sound predictions," Tinto said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I see what you did there.
Have they finally found Atlantis? Or is it R'lyeh?
...Have they finally found Atlantis? Or is it R’lyeh?
“That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die”
Paging H P Lovecraft.
This is the Thor scene where he joking says he accepts the creatures surrender. Creature attacks, Thor quickly destroys. Actually there is considerable humor in the Thor movies.
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