The 12,000-year-old ice shelf is about to disappear

The US Aeronautics and Space Agency warned that Antarctic ice shelves, formed about 12 millennia ago, will soon disappear.

Antarctic ice shelves of 12,000 years old are about to disappear

NASA researchers analyzed data from the Ice Bridge Mission program and identified that after the big break in 2002, the rest of the Larsen B ice shelf was undergoing serious changes. According to NASA's May 15 announcement, it crumbled, fractured cracks and fast flowing water.

The melting of the Larsen B ice shelf will affect the phenomenon of sea level rise.(Photo: earthobservatory.nasa.gov)

Ala Khazendar scientist said a large crack had occurred in the ice shelf area anchored in the floor of the Antarctic continent. When this crack pulled out the width of the ice shelf, the upper part of the ice shelf would be split, drifting and breaking into countless small icebergs floating in the ocean. Larsen B's disappearance will make the three Leppard, Flask and Starbuck glaciers shrink.

At the beginning of 2002, Larsen B broke once. At that time, 715 km3 of a 200-meter-thick ice sheet and the equivalent surface area of ​​the US state of Rhode Island broke and fell into the waters off the Antarctic Peninsula .

Larsen B ice shelf is covering an area of 1,600 km2 , with the thickest point of 500 m . Therefore, experts worry that it will melt significantly will affect the phenomenon of sea level rise . The fact that a huge block of ice, which has been stable for tens of thousands of years, is about to disappear is shocking, scientists say.