A study by Utrecht researchers solves decades-old Antarctic mysteries and reveals a large number of icebergs millions of years earlier than previously thought, a discovery that our understanding of today’s climate change It has had a profound impact.
The study, published in Past Log Climate in February, uses sophisticated computer modeling to prove that Antarctica has spawned a large number of icebergs 37 million years ago, challenging the long-standing assumption that the continent is The huge ice sheet was formed only 34 million years ago.
Lead researcher Mark Elbertsen, working with oceanographer Erik Van Sebille and geoscientist Peter Bijl, tracked down at South Oak The mysterious journey of the ancient ice sheepskin fragments (IRD) found in Nimico’s Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) website 696, located directly in what scientists call “Iceberg Lane”.
“The simulated trajectory suggests that icebergs released along the coast from Palmer land to Dronning Maud land in Germany may be stored on ODP site 696,” the researchers noted in the paper. Through a meticulous analysis, They identified the “offshore” area of ancient Antarctic materials “the most likely Maud land is the most likely location of origin”.
The mystery of science began in 2017, when researchers discovered Antarctic fragments near South Orkney dated 37 million years ago, about 3 million years ago, just in Antarctica, it was believed that large ice sheets had been developed. This discovery raises fundamental questions about whether Antarctica had a lot of ice during the warm Eocene period and how icebergs survived the warm oceanic conditions of that era.
Requires a lot of icebergs
Modeling of the Utrecht team shows that in the late Eocene, only a large number of icebergs could make the journey from the Antarctic to the South Orknevedi continent. Their calculations show that icebergs need to “get at least 100 tons or tens of meters thick in order to survive in the flow path.”
“Although this mass lies within a wide range of mass of ordinary icebergs around Antarctica, the minimum estimate is not feasible,” the researchers concluded.
The study incorporates sophisticated melt calculations to determine how quickly these ancient icebergs will deteriorate in warm Eocene waters. The researchers found that “the melting rate of icebergs in the late Eocene is significantly higher than today’s melting rate,” the melting rate reaches nearly 25 meters per day, higher than today’s rate.
Despite the high melting speed, the team’s models confirmed that larger icebergs can indeed survive long enough to reach the South Orkney miniature continent and store their rock cargo on their journey.
Climate impacts beyond history
This revelation is not just academic. Understanding the ancient iceberg pattern provides a crucial environment for what is happening today, as climate change accelerates ice loss around Antarctica.
“If climate change continues at the current rate, the Southern Ocean will soon face a bigger iceberg than it was in the past,” the researchers warned. Their findings help build historical patterns that can melt in the coming decades,” he said. Predictions that affect rivers and absorb carbon absorption provide predictions.
The study also showed that in the late Eocene, Antarctica received sufficient snowfall to support large amounts of ice cap growth and iceberg yields before major cooling events that caused the continent to be completely frozen.
The research team now expands their surveys through the Embracer Climate Research Program, focusing on periods of recent geological history, which have high rates of iceberg calving during the transition from the Ice Age to the Ice Age.
Modern parallel
Similar to their historical research, scientists point to current events – the large iceberg A23A, which broke from the Filchner Ice Speip in 1986, still maintained its roots for decades and recently began drifting towards southern Georgia.
Just like the ancient icebergs they studied, A23A has important ecological consequences. As scientists approach South Georgia, it is closely monitored, an important breeding ground for penguins, seals and albatrosses. While direct collisions may destroy wildlife into breeding sites, icebergs are more likely to be stranded on shallow waters around the island or be directed by ocean currents.
Research at the University of Utrecht provides a valuable historical context for such events, which shows that what we witness today has extended for millions of years of precedent – although now happening in a rapidly warming world, in this In the world, such events may become increasingly common.
As researchers Bijl and van Sebille continue their collaboration, their work is expected to shed light on how meltwater entering the Southern Ocean may affect deep ocean currents and oceans’ carbon absorption capacity – a key factor in our Earth’s climate future.
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