Exclusive: On board the mission to one of the world’s largest icebergs

A vast iceberg which separated from Antarctica in 2017 is now breaking up. Oceanographer Povl Abrahamsen reports from a unique mission to study the impact of its demise using underwater robotic gliders Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2268299-exclusive-on-board-the-mission-to-one-of-the-worlds-largest-icebergs/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Is this the end of the A-68A iceberg?

Satellite images reveal that the once colossal A-68A iceberg has broken into multiple pieces. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/end-of-the-a68a-iceberg-feb2021…

Will iceberg twice the size of NYC break off Antarctica this year?

A crack on the Antarctic ice shelf grew dramatically in late 2020 into 2021. Scientists are watching to see if the rapidly accelerating crack will cause the shelf to rip apart before Antarctica’s sunlit summer season – going on now – comes to an end. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/iceberg-brunt-ice-shelf-antarctica-break-off…

2020 Arctic Report Card: Sea ice loss, extreme wildfires

NOAA’s 2020 Arctic Report Card describes a region that is warming even more rapidly than scientists expected. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/arctic-report-card-2020-sea-ice-loss-extreme-wildfires…

World’s biggest iceberg on collision course with South Georgia Island

Antarctic iceberg A-68A has drifted menacingly close to a remote island in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The giant iceberg could strike land this month. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/biggest-iceberg-a68a-nears-south-georgia-island-dec2020…

Huge iceberg A-68A nears South Georgia Island

Scientists watch as A-68A, currently the planet’s largest iceberg, approaches a remote island in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/huge-iceberg-a68a-nears-south-georgia-island-nov202…

Earth’s glaciers and ice sheets are melting

Several new studies released in recent weeks paint a dire picture of the ongoing melting of Earth’s freshwater ice sheets and glaciers, 99% of which are found in Greenland and Antarctica. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/ice-sheets-glaciers-tearing-loose-worst-case-vulnerable…

Satellites discover new penguin colonies from space

Satellite images have revealed 11 previously unknown emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica, identified by telltale reddish-brown guano stains the birds leave on the ice. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/satellite-new-emperor-penguin-colonies-from-space…

From Rocks To Icebergs, the Natural World Tends To Break Into Cubes

sciencehabit shares a report from Science Magazine: Researchers have found that when everything from icebergs to rocks breaks apart, their pieces tend to resemble cubes. The finding suggests a universal rule of fragmentation at scales ranging from the microscopic to the planetary. The scientists started their study “fragmenting” an abstract cube in a computer simulation by slicing it with 50 two-dimensional…