Canada: Large icebergs in the Arctic drift down to the south sea

In recent weeks, on the giant ice island Ayles off the northwestern coast of the island of Elesmir in the Arctic Sea appear empty waters and large cracks due to unusual weather conditions.

The largest ice island in Canada's Arctic Sea in the past 30 years has been formed since August 2005 when a large ice seam of 66 km ² and 30-40 m thick, exists from 3,000 to 4,500 years, separating away from Elesmir Island far away to the sea.

Canadian ice research experts say the Ayles ice island could drift down to the west or south seas by seeing a large amount of ice in the nearby Lincoln Sea melting. This phenomenon is due to the recent warm winter that failed to create a ice bridge in the Nares Strait connecting the two islands of Elesmir and Baffin Island as a large wall, preventing the Arctic ice sheets from drifting down the regions. south sea.

According to Canadian scientists, the phenomenon is likely to seriously affect maritime operations because if the Ayles ice island drifted southwest, it could be blocked in Canada's Arctic islands. or if it drifted towards the Beaufort Sea, it could affect oil exploration here. Recently, representatives of a major US oil company had to visit Canadian ice research experts to discuss the risks to their mining operations off the coast of Alaska.

Currently Canadian scientists are actively monitoring and finding effective measures to be ready to deal with the possibility of large blocks of ice from the Arctic drifting down to the country's southern seas.

Ayles Ice Island (Photo: ksjtracker.mit.edu)