Mammoth iceberg could alter ocean circulation: study

AFP on Yahoo ^ | 2/25/10 | Marlowe Hood

[NormsRevenge]

PARIS (AFP) – An iceberg the size of Luxembourg knocked loose from the Antarctic continent earlier this month could disrupt the ocean currents driving weather patterns around the globe, researchers said Thursday.

While the impact would not be felt for decades or longer, a slowdown in the production of colder, dense water could result in less temperate winters in the north Atlantic, they said.

The 2550 square-kilometre (985 square-mile) block broke off on February 12 or 13 from the Mertz Glacier Tongue, a 160-kilometer spit of floating ice protruding into the Southern Ocean from East Antarctica due south of Melbourne, researchers said.

Some 400 metres (1300 feet) thick, the iceberg could fill Sydney Harbour more than 100 times over.

It could also disturb the area's exceptionally rich biodiversity, including a major colony of emperor penguins near Dumont d'Urville, site of a French scientific station, according to the scientists.

"The ice tongue was almost broken already. It was hanging like a loose tooth," said Benoit Legresy, a French glaciologist who has been monitoring the Metz Glacier via satellite images and on the ground for a decade in cooperation with Australian scientists.

The billion-tonne mass was dislodged by another, older iceberg, known as B9B, which split off in 1987.

Jammed against the Antarctic continent for more than 20 years, B9B smashed into the Metz tongue like a slow-motion battering ram after it began to drift.

Both natural cycles and manmade climate change contribute to the collapse ice shelves and glaciers.

Tide and ocean currents constantly beat against exposed areas, while longer summers and rising temperatures also take a toll.

"Obviously when there is warmer water, these ice tongues will become more fragile," said Legresy, who works at the Laboratory for Geophysics and Oceanographic Space Research in Toulouse, southern France.

[Frantzie]

I was thinking the same thing. Poor penguins. The story is BS but that hunk of ice is huge.

[Marine_Uncle]

"This is serious...will Obama send a rescue vehicle...??"
Yes. Probably as buss so he can run over the little bas*ards.
Gota hit the rack shortly. Must decide early morning if I want to dig out and attempt to get to work or just call out.

[Jimmy Valentine]

Anybody ever get the feeling that the Warmists really, really want a catastrophe to happen?

[Teflonic]

I read an article that pretty conclusively proved this was caused by increased wave activity.

[Jet Jaguar]

“killer iceberg.”

Lets nuke it!

[Mr Ramsbotham]

This would be akin to something like dropping a small ice cube into an olympic-sized swimming pool.

[steelyourfaith]

Thanx !

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[keving]

Let Al Gore ride it until it melts!!

[Bratch]

[DB]

A, isn't the very definition of a glacier a slow moving river of ice? Well if its moving towards the sea, eventually it will reach the sea and break apart even if the other end is gaining ice... The fact is Antarctica is at record ice levels and the only part of Antarctica that shows signs of warming has an under sea volcano erupting...

None of which points to man made global warming...

Duh...

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

“Put it in my Martini. Shake, don’t stir” - James Bond

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

“I want to know what Obama is going to do to confront the threat posed by this killer iceberg.”

Not to worry, all is gonna end in 2012 - no more Mayan Calendar, no more...

[Le Chien Rouge]

Anybody ever get the feeling that the Warmists really, really want a catastrophe to happen?

yes...

The global warming alarmists primary agenda is not the temperature of the planet but depopulation of the earth...natural catastrophe’s just quicken the process and make these nut jobs a little more happy.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Watched an Accuweather Video and they mentioned Philly was only going to get 5 or 6 inches,...but there would be wind...

North and East it was going to be a really blizzard with major road closure..

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

LOL,...

That is a nice little penguin...

[Citizen Tom Paine]

The largest Antarctic iceberg ever observed was in 1955 by the USS Glacier. The iceberg was twice the size of the state of Connecticut. As far as I recall the weather was not influenced then.

As an aside, the article is bullrohr. Spoken by a physical oceanographer for 30+ years.

[ApplegateRanch]

An iceberg the size of Luxembourg knocked loose from the Antarctic continent earlier this month could disrupt the ocean currents driving weather patterns around the globe, but almost certainly won't...but, it COULD!

[Rebelbase]

"It's a government job, AJ. They wanna fly us into space, drill 800' and set off a nuke...and this thing is in Antarctica?"

[Marine_Uncle]

Couldn't sleep. I just looked out the front window. Looks like we only picked up about an inch or two on the roof of my car since I got home from work around 6PM.
Noting yet sticking on the streets and pavements, only the grass. The snow looks like it stopped for the time being. Later into the morning hours however after the temps continued to drop we will pick up as you said approx. 6 or so, as heavy bands cycle through. If the roads are not slick as Hanoi John in the early morning I probably will resign myself into going into the pit.
Isn't this the iceberg we read about last month?

[TigersEye]

While the impact would not be felt for decades or longer, a slowdown in the production of colder, dense water could result in less temperate winters in the north Atlantic, they said.

"Less temperate" means colder. Hmmm, how about that? The earth regulates its own climate in a cyclic fashion.