A huge hole in the heart of Antarctica the size of Portugal. A mysterious and massive hole was recently observed in the sea ice cover
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himA huge hole in the heart of Antarctica the size of Portugal. A mysterious and massive hole was recently observed in the sea ice cover.
It is actually an old acquaintance, the first observations of which date back to the 70s. The so-called polynya it is an area that forms when the hottest currents rise to the surface until the sea ice melts, also preventing the formation of new ice. It is a navigable sea area present not only at the South Pole but also at the North Pole.
It is the largest so far observed in the Weddell Sea, a part of the Atlantic Ocean located close to the Antarctic continent. At its widest point it has an area of about 80.000 km2. For 40 years this polynya was no longer formed but it is the second consecutive year that this huge hole has been sighted, even if last year it was not as extensive.
Scientists at the University of Toronto are studying the phenomenon and explained that without the insulating effect of sea ice cover, polynya allows the atmosphere and ocean to exchange heat and moisture with significant impacts on the climate. The professor. Kent Moore of the University of Toronto is collaborating with members of Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM) to investigate these formations and their impacts on climate.
Due to the harshness of the Antarctic winter and the difficulties of operating within the ice, there are not many direct observations of polynye and their impacts on atmospheric and oceanic circulation. But within the SOCCOM project, robotic systems capable of operating under sea ice were used.
Last month, one of these surfaced inside the polynya, in the Weddell Sea, contacting researchers and providing the official confirmation of its existence. With these new measurements, along with spatial observations and climate models, new data on both origins and effects have been provided.
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“Once the sea ice melts, there's this huge temperature contrast between the ocean and the atmosphere,” Moore explained. "The colder waters they go down to the bottom of the ocean, as warmer water comes to the surface and this can keep the polynya open once it is born ”.
READ also:
- THAT FRACTURE OF THE ICE OF THE ANTARCTICA THAT CONCERNS THE WORLD
- THAT HUGE AND WORRYING CRACK IN THE ICE OF THE ANTARCTICA
Despite the large amount of data finally available to researchers, two major doubts still remain. How often does this phenomenon occur? It is somehow related to climate changes?
Francesca Mancuso
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