 |
| Left side is chunk that broke off measuring 720km2 |
The past couple weeks there’s
been all kinds of drama on the news: a plane crash in San Francisco, a train
derailment causing an explosion in Québec, President Morsi overthrown in
Egypt, another train derailment in France, etc. But have you heard about the
large ice shelf that broke away from the Pine Island glacier in the Antarctic?
Scientists say that it’s normal for chunks of ice to break
off as cracks form in the ice, especially from Pine Island glacier, because
it’s the fastest flowing glacier in the Western Antarctic. The concern,
however, is that the wind directions have changed in the Amundsen Sea, bringing
warm sea air underneath the shelf, so that it breaks from the bottom. This
leads to the concern that the ice will become unstable and more very large ice
chunks will slide off, going into the ocean and causing sea levels to rise
substantially. The chunk that just broke
away measured 720km2 (about the size of a large city) and is expected to slightly increase the global
sea level.
If the
entire West Antarctic ice shield were to go into the ocean, sea levels would
rise by 3.3 meters, flooding parts of many global cities. Many of the world’s
cities are also along coasts, making them vulnerable. The ten cities deemed
most at risk to sea level rise are:
1. Miami, USA
2. Venice, Italy
3. New York City, USA
4. Mumbai, India
5. Singapore
6. New Orleans, USA
7. Osaka, Japan
8. Tampa, USA
9. Dhaka, Bangladesh
10. Tokyo, Japan
If breaking ice shelves can cause
such a significant impact throughout the world, why aren’t we more concerned?
Is it because melting ice and rising sea levels don’t have the dramatic story
that a plane crash or explosion do or is it just too long term to be a good
news story? Why do you think we’ve become so indifferent and bored of one of
the biggest potential changes in history?
