Greenland’s Ice Island Could Threaten Oil Rigs and Ships

Published by mygoditsfullofstars
August 11, 2010, Category: Ecology

The ice island is on the move…

Only days ago, a very large portion of ice, broke away from Greenland. This ice island is more than four times the size of Manhattan. Now, it is on the move.

The ice island broke away from Petermann Glacier, in northern Greenland. It is 100 square miles and half as tall as the empire state building. It is one quarter of the size of the entire Petermann Glacier. No larger section of ice has broke free from the Arctic ice cap since 1962.

Whats worse than a massive chunk of ice breaking free from the Arctic ice cap? The damage it may do to anything in its path. Right now, oil rigs and platforms are in its path. Shipping lanes are also in the line of fire.

Researchers are attempting to plot a trajectory for the moving ice. Right now it is moving towards the Nares Strait. This is not a good scenario. If it reaches the strait, before winter freeze, it would likely travel south, due to the ocean currents. If this happens, it will have a path that leads it right into the active, oil drilling and shipping waters off of Newfoundland.

That scenario would take between one and two years. Over that period of time, it will likely break up into smaller pieces. The good news is that it is possible to control smaller icebergs. It is not possible to control it at its current size.