Un iceberg pesante mille miliardi di tonnellate, lungo 175 chilometri e largo 50 e quindi tra i più imponenti mai visti finora, si è formato nei giorni scorsi dopo il suo sezionamento dal continente antartico. Lo affermano mercoledì ricercatori dell’Università di Swansea.
Gli studiosi che sorvegliavano l’evoluzione di questo blocco di ghiaccio di 5'800 chilometri quadrati (pari a 55 volte la superficie di Parigi) precisano che la montagna gelata si dirige verso nord e impiegherà dai due ai tre anni per sciogliersi. Di uno spessore di 350 metri, l’iceberg a cui verosimilmente sarà dato il nome in codice A68, non avrà impatto sul livello degli oceani poiché galleggiava già sulle acque antartiche.
Facente parte di una gigantesca barriera di ghiaccio denominata “Larsen C”, che ad ovest dell’Antartico bloccava ghiacciai in grado di far crescere di 10 centimetri i mari del mondo se si trovassero, a termine, esposti agli oceani. Va rilevato che proprio l’Antartico è una delle regioni del mondo che si riscalda più velocemente.
AFP/Reuters/EnCa
Dal TG20:
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