DesertFox
12-21-2002, 07:34 PM
. . .It began when prolonged warmer temperatures in the summer melted some ice on the surface of the shelf, said Christina Hulbe, a researcher at Portland State University.
Melted water then pooled on the surface, appearing like a blue Slurpee — the term used by scientists for its appearance in the satellite images.
Eventually, the water ended up in cracks in the ice. The water and ice exerted more pressure than air on the walls of the crevasses. In other words, it acted like a wedge.
"It's a big floating mass of cut-apart icebergs that are narrow and tall," she said. "Once one tips, it imparts a force to a neighbouring iceberg. As it does that, it imparts it to its neighbours. It's just like dominoes."
The entire shelf then failed.
Entire article (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?GXHC_gx_session_id_=536f95b44025d675 &pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1035775778071&call_pag eid=968332188774&col=968350116467)
Melted water then pooled on the surface, appearing like a blue Slurpee — the term used by scientists for its appearance in the satellite images.
Eventually, the water ended up in cracks in the ice. The water and ice exerted more pressure than air on the walls of the crevasses. In other words, it acted like a wedge.
"It's a big floating mass of cut-apart icebergs that are narrow and tall," she said. "Once one tips, it imparts a force to a neighbouring iceberg. As it does that, it imparts it to its neighbours. It's just like dominoes."
The entire shelf then failed.
Entire article (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?GXHC_gx_session_id_=536f95b44025d675 &pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1035775778071&call_pag eid=968332188774&col=968350116467)