Larsen C Branches Out And Reveals New Rift In The Ice Shelf

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Larsen C has a new rift, and it looks like it will be breaking away sooner than believed.

The Larsen ice shelf is the largest of its kind along Antarctica’s Northern Peninsula. The section known as Larsen A broke off in 1995. Larsen B broke away in 2002 in a particularly dramatic fashion. Larsen C, the largest section of the remaining shelf and the fourth largest in Antarctica, has a new rift, and it looks like it will be breaking away sooner than believed.

Larsen C Cracking from Antarctica Even Faster

The entire first rift is now around 111 miles long. Scientists have been monitoring it for years and have noticed an increase in how quickly it has been growing. It lengthened almost 17 miles in the months of December and January alone. It has grown over 50 miles since 2011.

What has scientists most nervous is that it no longer seems to be lengthening. Rather, the rift is widening. Right now it is more than 1000 feet wide and still growing.

Even more unnerving is this new rift, discovered only recently by Project Midas. This is a U.K. based research group in Antarctica. The new rift is a branch from the main fracture about six miles from its tip. It is about nine miles long itself, leaving only about 12 miles of ice still holding the entire structure in place.

“While the previous rift tip has not advanced, a new branch of the rift has been initiated,” says Adrian Luckman. He is a glaciologist from the UK-based Swansea University.

The biggest fear now is not that Larsen C will fall into the ocean. That is almost a certainty at this point, according to scientists. The real concern is for all the glaciers held in place behind the ice shelf.Larsen is over water, so as it melts, sea levels do not rise. But it holds back an entire network of glaciers that are on the rocky surface of Antarctica. If this ice does slide into the ocean and melt, it could raise sea levels by almost four inches alone. Which could be catastrophic in some coastal areas.

Image Source: Wikimedia

Rebecca McGhee

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