The process of ice melting in Antarctica brought a surprise for researchers. Global warming is melting the Arctic ice layers quicker than anything seen before. The Antarctic Peninsula is one of the quickest-warming places on our planet currently.
One of the peninsula’s most significant glaciers, known as the Thwaites “Doomsday” Glacier,” is alarmingly melting at some unexpected rates. The glacier alone has the chance to increase the sea-level by almost 10 feet. It is responsible until now, for 1 % of the worldwide sea-level increase. However, global maps need to be upgraded, as researchers made quite the discovery.
Sif Island is the Newest Remote Island in Antarctica
Researchers from the International Thwaites Glacier Offshore Research mission found a new, remote island, dubbed Sif Island, that was full of ice previously. They were sailing close to the coast of the Pine Island Glacier, another significant glacier of the Antarctic Peninsula when they made the discovery. Pine Island Glacier is, unfortunately, another fast-melting glacier.
It loses almost 58 billion tons of ice/year. Recently, an iceberg far bigger than Washington DC shattered off the glacier because of the climate change.
“This one island could hold a lot of clues. The rapid rebound could increase stress on the remaining ice sheet, causing it to break apart more quickly,” stated geologist Lauren Simkins from the University of Virginia.
More Details About Sif Island
Sif Island was estimated to be 350 meters long. It has a noticeable layer of dark-brown rock, and it is mostly full of ice. Such a thing lets it be quickly recognized from the other close icebergs.
Researchers arrived in Sif Island and proved that it was formed of volcanic granite. No other island resembling the Sif Island is noticeable like this for more than 65 kilometers, according to one of the researchers, Games Marschalek. Some sea lions can also be spotted on the island, as the only living creature there. The team of researchers intends to examine as much as they can to find out more about the island.
