Tag Archives: iceberg

Massive Iceberg Transformed into a Giant Pool: The Ultimate City Attraction

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Satellite image of Antarctic iceberg A23a on January 7

Satellite image of Antarctic iceberg A23a displaying meltwater on its surface

NASA

The Antarctic iceberg A23a, comparable in size to a city, is experiencing an alarming build-up of meltwater on its surface, signaling potential fragmentation.

Researchers are captivated by the massive A23a iceberg due to its unique ability to collect and retain meltwater.

Satellite visuals reveal a distinctive raised ice rim encircling the entire cliff-edge of this slab-like iceberg, giving it an intriguing resemblance to an oversized playground. This pooling region spans approximately 800 square kilometers, larger than the city of Chicago.

In several areas, the meltwater appears deep and brilliantly blue, indicating depths of several meters. The total volume of water on A23a is estimated to be in the billions of liters, enough to fill thousands of Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Douglas MacAyeal from the University of Chicago explains that this rim effect is a typical phenomenon observed in the world’s largest icebergs.


“My hypothesis is that the edges curve downward from the nose, forming an arched dam that retains snowmelt,” he states. “This curvature likely results from a combination of wave undercutting and melting ice, as well as the inherent flexibility of vertical ice cliffs.”

The streaks of water visible in the satellite images indicate remnants of past ice flow when these icebergs were still attached to the Antarctic coast, he noted.

Image of iceberg A23-A captured from the ISS on December 27, 2025

NASA

A23a dates back to 1986 and originated from the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, initially being over five times its current size. It once held the distinction of being the largest iceberg on Earth.

In recent years, A23a has drifted north into increasingly warmer waters, leading to its gradual fragmentation. The substantial volume of surface meltwater can ultimately contribute to its collapse. “Should that water seep into its fractures and subsequently refreeze, it will effectively split the iceberg,” remarks Mike Meredith from the British Antarctic Survey.

He contends that the iceberg can deteriorate unexpectedly within a matter of days.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

The Massive Iceberg from the Past Created a Trench at the Depths of the North Sea

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Tabular icebergs are away from Antarctica ice shelves

James Kirkham

When the ice sheets covering much of Northern Europe were rapidly retreating about 18,000-20,000 years ago, urban-sized icebergs once drifted through the British coast.

James Kirkham During a survey in the Antarctic of England, his colleagues discovered preserved scour marks created by these giants, which were created when they ploughed underwater sediments. The long comb-like features are buried under the mud of the North Sea, but are still visible in seismic survey data collected for searches for oil and gas.

“We know about the degree of scouring and ancient sea level, so we can estimate that these bergs are probably five to tens of kilometers wide, and perhaps hundreds of meters thick.

In Antarctica, table-form or table-top icebergs are a spectacular sight. Some will rival even small states in the US from a regional standpoint, like the recent giants known as the A23A and A68A. They listen from the ice shelf – a wide floating protrusion of a glacier flowing from the glacier.

Therefore, the perception that tabular icebergs once existed in the North Sea clearly shows that they had both the sea edges of the British and Ireland ice sheets and ice shelves. And that means there may be some lessons for the future decline of Antarctica, says Keycam.

In the North Sea, the large iceberg’s straight trams are written by wavy valleys made by narrow keels of much smaller blocks of ice. In other words, there is a “change of administration” in which large icebergs are replaced by countless small icebergs when ice shelves are crushed in response to rising temperatures, says Keekam.

Radiocarbon dating of sediments indicates that this shift occurs between 20,000 and 18,000 years ago.

Observations question the idea that labours of megabergs like the A23A and A68A may signal the widespread collapse of Antarctic ice shelves.

Emma Mackey The University of Florida tracks tabular iceberg sizes with satellite data since the mid-1970s, finding this trend to be inherently flat.

“James’ research highlights the mines, which means that major birth events are not necessarily signs of instability or cause of alarm,” says McKee. “In fact, ice shelves are disintegrated by death by 1,000 cuts. You need to worry when you stop watching large-scale birth events.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Photo of a polar bear snoozing on an iceberg captures attention and admiration

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Nima Sarikani/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

As midnight approaches in Svalbard, a young polar bear climbs onto an iceberg, makes himself a makeshift bed, and falls asleep. This year’s winner, Nima Sarikani, captured this peaceful moment that captures the essence of Earth’s fragility. Wildlife Photographer of the Year, People’s Choice Awarddecided by public vote.

Sarikani, from the UK, spent three days exploring Norway’s Svalbard archipelago in hopes of catching a glimpse of these iconic arctic animals. After the expedition vessel decided to change course, he was finally able to see both the older and younger males. Salikhani seized the opportunity to photograph a young bear dozing on an iceberg. This scene not only evokes the bond between animals and their habitat, but also the need to act against global challenges such as climate change and habitat loss.

These days, the sight of a lone polar bear on melting ice has become a familiar symbol of the effects of climate change. But there are good reasons for this. Global warming is affecting the Arctic particularly rapidly, where temperatures are rising three times faster than the global average. Bears are among the hardest hit, and are increasingly threatened by the loss of sea ice on which they depend for hunting and raising their young.

Salikhani is optimistic that while his shots are meant to stir the emotions of viewers, they will ultimately give polar bears hope that if they do the right thing, it’s not too late.The image will appear like this exhibition It will run until June 30th at the Natural History Museum in London, with four runners-up in the competition.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Porous iceberg on Saturn’s moon Titan believed to be a strange ‘magical island’

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Infrared image of Saturn’s icy moon Titan

NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology/Stephane Le Mouelik, Virginia Pasek

Saturn’s moon Titan is home to strange “magical islands” that appear and disappear over hours to weeks. These so-called islands are actually porous, sponge-like masses of snow that can slowly fill with liquid before sinking.

Titan’s thick atmosphere is filled with complex organic molecules that can clump together and fall to the moon’s surface like snow. Sintin Yu Researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio thought that snow could be the cause of the magical islands. To test their idea, they took advantage of what we know about these atmospheric compounds and how they are expected to interact with Titan’s oceans.

Titan’s liquid is methane, not water, so any solids on the surface of these oceans would normally be expected to sink quickly. Water molecules tend to stick together and displace other substances, but methane easily sticks to other molecules, so the surface tension of a pool of liquid methane is very low.

“Water molecules just love themselves by excluding certain molecules,” he says. michael marasca from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California was not involved in the study. “But if you put methane on the same surface, it’ll start crawling all over the place.” That means Titan’s methane oceans and lakes should immediately swallow up any solids that are expected to float. It means that.

But that clearly won’t happen on the magical island, which appeared as a temporary bright spot in observations from the Cassini spacecraft. “For us to see magical islands, they cannot float briefly and then immediately sink,” Yu said in the paper. statement. “You have to stay afloat for a while, but not forever.” Researchers have found a solution to this problem. When large amounts of snow accumulate on the coast, they can form sponge-like, porous ice. Once these porous “icebergs” separated from the land, they could float in Titan’s oceans for long enough to rival Cassini’s observations. The researchers calculated that this would work if the sponge-like structure contained enough free space (at least about 25 to 50 percent, depending on the exact composition of the ice).

However, this does not mean that these mysterious islands are definitely porous icebergs. “We’re narrowing down different scenarios for the magical island, but we don’t know the answer yet,” Malasca says. Other possible explanations include nitrogen gas bubbles, waves caused by wind or solid ocean deposits. However, this provides evidence that Titan’s temporary islands may actually be suspended matter from this strange world’s atmosphere.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Porous iceberg on Saturn’s moon Titan may be a mysterious ‘magical island’

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Infrared image of Saturn’s icy moon Titan

NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology/Stephane Le Mouelik, Virginia Pasek

Saturn’s moon Titan is home to strange “magical islands” that appear and disappear over hours to weeks. These so-called islands are actually porous, sponge-like masses of snow that can slowly fill with liquid before sinking.

Titan’s thick atmosphere is filled with complex organic molecules that can clump together and fall to the moon’s surface like snow. Sintin Yu Researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio thought that snow could be the cause of the magical islands. To test their idea, they took advantage of what we know about these atmospheric compounds and how they are expected to interact with Titan’s oceans.

Titan’s liquid is methane, not water, so any solids on the surface of these oceans would normally be expected to sink quickly. Water molecules tend to stick together and displace other substances, but methane easily sticks to other molecules, so the surface tension of a pool of liquid methane is very low.

“Water molecules just love themselves by excluding certain molecules,” he says. michael marasca from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California was not involved in the study. “But if you put methane on the same surface, it will start crawling all over the place.” That means Titan’s methane oceans and lakes should immediately swallow up any solids that are expected to float. It means that.

But that clearly won’t happen on the magical island, which appeared as a temporary bright spot in observations from the Cassini spacecraft. “For us to see magical islands, they cannot float briefly and then immediately sink,” Yu said in the paper. statement. “You have to stay afloat for a while, but not forever.”

Researchers have found a solution to this problem. When large amounts of snow accumulate on the coast, they can form sponge-like, porous ice. Once these porous “icebergs” separated from the land, they could float in Titan’s oceans for long enough to rival Cassini’s observations. The researchers calculated that this would work if the sponge-like structure contained enough free space (at least about 25 to 50 percent, depending on the exact composition of the ice).

However, this does not mean that these mysterious islands are definitely porous icebergs. “We’re narrowing down different scenarios for the magical island, but we don’t know the answer yet,” Malasca says. Other possible explanations include nitrogen gas bubbles, waves caused by wind or solid ocean deposits. However, this provides evidence that Titan’s temporary islands may actually be suspended matter from this strange world’s atmosphere.

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Source: www.newscientist.com