NASA worried by unusually big iceberg six times the size of Manhattan

rt.com...

Dubbed “B31,” the iceberg could pose some significant problems for ships if it continues to melt or break apart in the Southern Ocean.

At 255 square miles (660 sq. km) and 500 meters thick, B31 is one of the biggest icebergs on the planet – and currently six times the size of Manhattan.

Although the process of icebergs breaking off from glaciers is typical – “iceberg calving,” as its known, typically occurs at the Pine Island Glacier every six to 10 years – NASA’s Earth Observatory is attempting to keep a special eye on B31.

Currently, B31 is not in the way of any Antarctic shipping lanes, but Brunt said its current trajectory means that's where the iceberg is headed.

"It's floating off into the sea and will get caught up in the current and flow around the Antarctica continent where there are ships," she said, according to the Guardian.

NASA has been monitoring the Pine Island Glacier since 2011, when it first observed a crack that eventually got larger and resulted in B31 breaking off into the ocean. The massive glacier has been highlighted by scientists over the last 20 years due to the fact that, as NASA put it, “it has been thinning and draining rapidly and may be one of the largest contributors to sea level rise.”

WOW that's impressive...

My guess is that any ships in the area will probably avoid colliding with it....we'll for various reasons, but one sticks out in particular.

Someone should plant a flag on it and homestead.

a reply to: Aleister
who has the grazing rights to it?

Its just a baby iceburg

In 1987 an iceberg with an area of 6350 square kilometers broke from the Ross Ice Shelf

Why can't they start blow torching it, if their so worried about it? Get started on it now before it's too late...

The sheer size of this iceberg is both scary and massively impressive. The scale just goes beyond what I consider an iceberg to be and is a bit of an eyeopener.

Hoax. Obviously this is not possible with the runaway global warming Al Gore warned us about 10 years ago.

a reply to: Hx3_1963

Can they tow that thing over a drought stricken area? Free ice for a decade!

Invite the worlds air forces for bombing practise

Pffff, and the Day After Tomorrow thought they were being bada** years ago with their puny little chunk the size of Rhode Island. Connecticut is nearly 5 times that...

What's really interesting is how relatively small that iceberg is in the video to the rest of the South Pole. Whole lotta ice down there........

Again why is this NASA problem?

Seeing as they are having to hitch rides on Russian ships shouldn't they be focusing on space not Icebergs?

originally posted by: crazyewok
Again why is this NASA problem?

Seeing as they are having to hitch rides on Russian ships shouldn't they be focusing on space not Icebergs?

Well I suppose focusing on icebergs from space is close enough?

a reply to: Hoaxster

Amazing, that iceberg had enough water to provide every person on the Earth with 270 tons of water.

I don't understand why this is an issue, it is not like the thing is going to be moving fast. With today modern communication and navigation equipment you would have to be pretty incompetent to crash into it.

originally posted by: crazyewok
Again why is this NASA problem?

Seeing as they are having to hitch rides on Russian ships shouldn't they be focusing on space not Icebergs?

I am guessing it is because NASA operates the Earth Observatory satellites that are actually doing the tracking.

And those satellites are up in space. (I think)

originally posted by: ScientiaFortisDefendit
Hoax. Obviously this is not possible with the runaway global warming Al Gore warned us about 10 years ago.

I believe that warming is what caused it to break away from the glacier so not sure what kind of point you're trying to make here.

originally posted by: zetnom
I don't understand why this is an issue, it is not like the thing is going to be moving fast. With today modern communication and navigation equipment you would have to be pretty incompetent to crash into it.

I could do it!

originally posted by: Soloprotocol
My guess is that any ships in the area will probably avoid colliding with it....we'll for various reasons, but one sticks out in particular.

Because it's moving slower than a snail in mud? I mean how could a modern ship, equipped with radar and the ability to obtain satellite imagery, hit something like this?