In Antarctica, a block of ice of approximately 1,270 square kilometers is breaking away from the pack ice, a consequence of global warming.
In its wake, it could cause the formation of other icebergs of similar size or even larger, and a rise in sea level.
Symbol of climate change, a monumental iceberg, larger than the city of Paris, is detaching itself from the Antarctic sea ice at the South Pole.
You have to imagine this vertiginous phenomenon seen from the sky: an immense expanse of perfectly white ice but which is crossed by an interminable fault for kilometers.
It is quite simply the block of ice that is slowly being torn off.
"A direct consequence of global warming"
Halley VI, a scientific research station located near the rupture zone, had to be evacuated in mid-February, said the British Antarctic Survey, an organization which operates several research centers on the continent, and which posted on Twitter a impressive video of the flaw.
Brunt Ice Shelf calves along North Rift chasm - A 1270 km² #iceberg has broken off the # BruntIceShelf. # HalleyVI Research Station is closed for the winter and unlikely to be affected.
Full story: https://t.co/l13QrWdnB0
️ #NorthRift, #Antarctica, 16 Feb 2021, @ BAS_Newspic.twitter.com / QyNt7sVOzT
- British Antarctic Survey (@BAS_News) February 26, 2021
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The fear is that once detached, this 1,270 square kilometer block will allow even larger masses of ice to flow behind it, causing the sea level to rise. "This process is a direct consequence of global warming, "notes climate scientist Hervé Le Treut with Europe 1.
"We are facing a serious problem because it is relatively inevitable. So far we have not reduced our greenhouse gas emissions, and they continue to be stored in the atmosphere", laments the scientist. .
Before adding: "Part of the future is already written, and this is a problem that we do not control."