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Giant Channels Discovered Beneath Antarctic Ice Shelf, as Tall as the Eiffel Tower
Scientists have discovered huge ice channels beneath a floating ice shelf in Antarctica. At 250 metres high, the channels are almost as tall as the Eiffel tower and stretch hundreds of kilometres along the ice shelf. The channels are likely to influence the stability of the ice shelf and their discovery will help researchers understand how the ice will respond to changing environmental conditions.
The ice shelf channel is clearly visible on the MODIS Mosaic of Antarctica image map; the predicted flow route of water beneath the grounded ice sheet aligns with the initiation of the ice shelf channel. The dashed line marks the point at which the ice starts to float. Credit: MODIS Mosaic of Antarctica (MOA) Image Map / Anne le Brocq.
The British Antarctic Survey’s Twin Otter survey plane & camp, the plane was used to collect data about the size of the sub-ice-shelf channel. Credit: Neil Ross
Provided by University of Exeter
Physorg
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-10-giant-channels-beneath-antarctic-ice.html
