Written by Dr. Katja Žerjavič, translated by JL Flanner
Poleti se je ob Antarktiki rodila največja ledena gora
Od Antarktike se je letošnje poletje odlomila orjaška ledena gora.
Velika je za tretjino Slovenije, tehta več kot 20 milijon Titanikov in vsebuje toliko vode kot 40 tisoč Bohinjskih jezer.
Ledena gora je plavala v vodi že pred odcepitvijo od ledene police Larsen C. Gladina morja se zato ne bo dvignila, četudi se bo led stalil.
Kako si to lažje predstavljamo? Tako da si pogledamo taljenje kocke ledu v kozarcu vode. Ko se stali, se gladina v kozarcu ne spremeni.
Znanstveniki si niso enotni, zakaj se je ledena gora odcepila. Nekateri menijo, da je to naraven pojav in ga nismo povzročili mi. Drugi pa so prepričani, da polica razpada zaradi pretiranega segrevanja ozračja.
Ta velikanska gmota ledu zdaj plava v Južnem oceanu. Znanstveniki napovedujejo, da se bo čez nekaj let zdrobila na manjše dele in se razkropila.
Vendar jih obenem skrbi, da se bodo zdaj ledeniki s tega dela Antarktike razlili v morje.
Ledeniki so namreč kot ogromne reke, polne ledu, ki zaradi lastne teže počasi drsijo navzdol. Zdrs gromozanskih količin ledu v morje pa preprečujejo ledene police okrog njih.
Če del ledenika s kopnega pade v vodo, se gladina morja dvigne. Na Antarktiki je v obliki ledu shranjene toliko vode, da bi se morska gladina po vsem svetu dvignila za kar 60 metrov, če bi ves led pristal v morju.
The largest iceberg was born in Antarctica this summer
A giant ice shelf broke off in the Antarctic this summer.
It’s one third the size of Slovenia, weighs more than 20 million Titanics and contains as much water as 40,000 Lake Bohinjs.
The iceberg was floating in the water before it split from Larsen C. The sea level will not rise, even though the ice will melt.
How can you imagine this more easily? Let’s look at an ice cube melting in a glass of water. When it stops melting, the water level in the glass does not change.
Scientists disagree as to why the iceberg has broken off. Some think this is a natural phenomenon, and we did not cause it. Others are convinced that the shelf broke off due to the warming of the atmosphere.
This gigantic ice berg is now floating in the Southern Ocean. Scientists predict that it will break into smaller parts in a few years and then scatter.
But at the same time, they are concerned that more glaciers will now flow into the sea from this part of Antarctica.
Glaciers are like huge rivers full of ice, which slowly slide along due to their own weight. What prevents them from falling more quickly are the ice shelves that are around them.
If a part of the glacier from the land falls into the water, the sea level rises. There is so much ice in the Antarctic that the sea level would rise 60 meters all over the world if all of it landed in the sea.
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