The destruction of the largest glaciers in Greenland – photo by NASA

The breakaway area of the glacier in case of a new fault will be from 130 to 180 sq. km.

In one of the largest in Greenland the Petermann glacier there was a crack, which, according to the researchers, could lead to the breakaway of large ice “island” and a possible rise in sea level.

Photo cracks were made by NASA in the framework of Operation IceBridge for monitoring the state of Arctic ice.

First to focus attention on the rift drew the attention of scientist from the Netherlands, who has studied satellite images of the glaciers. It is noted that the reason for the formation of cracks that appeared in the center, not the edge of the glacier, which is atypical for him until I found out.

A new crack appeared near another larger split in the ice. Scientists fear that if the two cracks are joined, the resulting fold will extend for half the length of the ice shelf, which in turn can lead to spalling of its parts.

In the Geological survey of Denmark and Greenland said that in the event of a fault area is a breakaway part of the glacier range from 130 to 180 square kilometers.

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