What will happen if the Antarctic glaciers melt? Maximum ice thickness in Antarctica: features and interesting facts as the world will change due to the melting of glaciers

According to a number of foreign researchers, the situation in Antarctica has become so threatening that it is time to beat into all the bells: data obtained from satellites irrefutably indicate a catastrophic melting of ice in the territory of Western Antarctica. If it goes further, glances are convinced, in the near future, these glaciers will disappear at all.

Some of them reduce their area with a speed one - two kilometers per year. But in general, according to the measurements received from the Satellite of the European Space Agency "Cryosat", the ice cover of the sixth mainland every year loses weight of two centimeters. At the same time, according to the Air Force, Antarctica loses about 160 billion ice per year - now the rate of ice melting is already twice as high than four years ago. The most vulnerable point, NASA experts called the Amundsen Sea area, where in the six largest glaciers the melting process will already be able to slow down.

Influential Western magazine Earth and Planetary Science Letters published a study in which it is proven: as a result of the Malnia of Antarctica, the deformation of the earth's crust at a depth of 400 km occurs. "Despite the fact that the ice cover of Antarctica grows at a speed of 15 mm per year," they explain, "as a whole, an active melting due to global warming and changes in the chemical composition of the earth's crust in the Antarctic region are taught at great depths under the sheltering glaciers." In the critical phase, this process entered in the late 1990s. And then there is another ozone hole, which also does not like best affect the Antarctic climate.

What is it threatening to us? As a result, the ocean level may increase 1.2 meters in a short time, or even more. Strong evaporation and a huge amount of water condensation are breeding powerful typhoon, hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters, many land areas will be flooded. Amend the situation, humanity is unable. In short, save who can!

"AIF" decided to interview Russian scientists: when specifically the world will cover the wave? According to them, everything is not so bad. "If a significant increase in the level of the oceans and happens, this will not happen tomorrow and not even the day after tomorrow, - explained" AIF " Alexander Nahututin, Deputy Director of the Institute of Global Climate and Ecology Roshydromet and RAS. - Melting of Antarctic and Greenland glaciers - the process is very inertial, slow even on geological standards. His consequences, at best, will be able to see only our descendants. And that if the glaciers melt completely. And it will take it no year and not two, but a hundred or more years. "

There is a more positive version. "Global" melting of glaciers is not related to all Antarctica, "says Nikolai Oskin, a candidate of geographical sciences, Deputy Head of the Glyciology Department of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences. - Perhaps the melting of six glaciers in the sea Amundsen is really irreversible, and they will not be restored. Well, nothing terrible! Western Antarctica, a smaller part of the mainland, in recent years really noticeably melted. However, in general, the process of active melting of glaciers in Antarctica last a few years, on the contrary, slowed down. Certificates a lot of evidence. In the same Western Antarctica, for example, there is a Russian station "Bellinshausen". According to our observations, in the area there is an improvement in the nutrition of glaciers - snow falls more than melting. "

It turns out, beat in the bell is not time. "In the atlas of the snow-ice resources of the world, released by the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, there is a map: what would happen if all glaciers were melted on Earth at once. It enjoys very very popular, - Isokin laughs. - Many journalists enjoy her as a horrorist: see, they say, what kind of universal flood is waiting for us when the level of the world's ocean will rise at 64 meters ... but this is a purely hypothetical opportunity. In the nearst century, and even the Millennium does not threaten this. "

By the way, as a result of the study of glacial core in Antarctica, Russian glaciologists have established an interesting fact. It turns out that over the past 800 thousand years on the ground of cooling and warming regularly replace each other. "As a result of the warming, the glaciers retreat, melting, the level of the world's ocean rises. And then there is a reverse process - there is a cooling, glaciers grow, the ocean level falls. This happened already at least 8 times. And now we are just at the peak of warming. So, in the next century, the Earth, and together with it and humanity will go to the new glacial period. This is normal and associated with the eternal processes of the oscillation of the earth's axis, its tilt, change distance from the ground to the Sun. ".

Meanwhile, with ice in the Arctic, the situation is much more unequivocal: they are melting an order faster and global antarctic. "Over the past ten years, there have already been several records at the minimum area of \u200b\u200bmarine ice in the North Arctic Ocean, it resembles Oskin. - The total trend goes to a decrease in the area of \u200b\u200bice on the north. "

Can humanity, if he wants to slow down the universal warming or cooling? How much does anthropogenic activity affect the melting? "If it affects, then, most likely, to a very small degree," Osokin believes. - The main reason for the landing glaciers is natural factors. " So we can wait, hope and believe. Best, of course. "

Many represent Antarctica with a huge continent, completely covered with ice. But all this is not so simple. Scientists found out that in Antarctica earlier, about 52 million years ago, palms, baobabs, araucaria, macadamia and other types of thermal-loving plants were growing. Then the mainland was a tropical climate. Today, the continent is the polar desert.

Before we discuss in more detail on the question of what is the thickness of ice in Antarctica, we list some interesting facts regarding this distant, mysterious and coldest continent of the earth.

Who owns Antarctica?

Before moving directly to the question of what the thickness of the ice in Antarctica should determine who owns this unique little learned mainland.

In fact, he does not have any government. Many countries at one time tried to take possession of the right of ownership of these desert, far from the civilization of the Earth, but on December 1, 1959 the Convention was signed (he entered into force on June 23, 1961), according to which Antarctica does not belong to any state. Now the participants in the contract are 50 states (with the right to vote) and dozens of observer countries. However, the existence of the agreement does not mean that the country's signatories refused their territorial claims to the continent and the adjacent space.

Relief

Many represent Antarctica of the Bescraine Ice Desert, where, besides snow and ice, there is absolutely nothing. And to a greater extent it is true, but there are some interesting moments here to consider. Therefore, not only about the thickness of ice in Antarctica will argue.

On this mainland there are quite extensive valleys without ice cover, and even sandy dunes. There is no snow in such places. Not because there is warmer, on the contrary, there is a much severe climate than in other regions of the mainland.

Mac-Mesdo Valley is open to terrible catabathic winds, the speed of which reaches 320 km per hour. They cause strong evaporation of moisture, with which the absence of ice and snow is connected. Life conditions here are very similar to Martian, therefore NASA in the valleys of McMordo was carried out tests of "Viking" (spacecraft).

There is in Antarctica and a huge mountain range comparable in size with the Alps. His name is Hamburg Mountains, named by the names of the famous Soviet Academician-Geophysics Georgy Hambursheva. In 1958, his expedition opened them.

For its length, its mountain range is 1300 km, in width - from 200 to 500 kilometers. The highest point reaches 3390 meters. The most interesting is that this huge mountain rests under powerful strata (on average up to 600 meters) ice. There are even plots where the thickness of the ice cover exceeds 4 kilometers.

About climate

In Antarctica, there is an amazing contrast between the amount of water (fresh water - 70 percent) and a rather dry climate. This is the most dry plot of the entire planet Earth.

Even in the most sultry and hot deserts around the world, more rains fall out than in the arid valleys of the mainland Antarctica. In total, over the year, only 10 centimeters of precipitation falls on the southern pole.

Most of the territory of the continent is covered with eternal ice. What is the thickness of the ice on the mainland of Antarctic, learn just below.

About the rivers Antarctica

One of the rivers, carrying molten water in the east direction, is onyx. He leaks to Lake Wanda, which is in the arid valley of Wright. In connection with such extreme climatic conditions, onyks carries its wounds for only two months a year, during the period of the short Antarctic summer.

The length of the river is equal to 40 kilometers. There are no fish here, but it lives a variety of algae and microorganisms.

Global warming

Antarctica is the largest area of \u200b\u200bsushi covered with ice. Here, as noted above, 90% of the total mass of ice worldwide is concentrated. The average ice thickness in Antarctica is about 2133 meters.

In case of melting of all ice on Antarctica, the World Ocean level can rise by 61 meters. However, at the moment the average air temperature on the continent is -37 degrees Celsius, therefore there is no real danger of such a natural cataclysm. For most of the territory of the continent, the temperature never rises above zero.

About animals

The Fauna Antarctic is represented by separate types of invertebrates, birds, mammals. At present, at least 70 species of invertebrates were found in Antarctica, four types of penguins nest. On the territory of the polar region found the remains of several types of dinosaurs.

Polar bears, as you know, do not live in Antarctica, they live in the Arctic. Most of the continent inhabit penguins. It is unlikely that these two types of animals will meet ever in natural natural conditions.

This place is the only one on the entire planet, where the unique imperial penguins are inhabited, which are the highest and large among all their relatives. In addition, this is the only appearance in the Antarctic Winter. Compared to other types, Penguin Adelli multiplies in the south of the mainland.

The mainland is not very rich in terrestrial animals, but in coastal waters you can meet the tales, blue whales and sea cats. The unusual insect lives here and the unusual insect - the woundless midge, the length of which is 1.3 cm. In connection with the extreme windy conditions, there are no flying insects here at all.

Among the numerous colonies of Penguins there are black inheritance, jumping like fleas. Annarctica is the only continent where antsians cannot meet.

Ice cover area around Antarctica

Before finding out what the greatest thickness of ice in Antarctica, consider the area of \u200b\u200bthe sea of \u200b\u200bsea around Antarctica. In some areas, they increase and simultaneously decrease in others. Again, the cause of such changes is the wind.

For example, the winds of the Northern chase huge blocks of ice towards the mainland, and therefore the sushus partially loses ice cover. As a result, an increase in ice masses around Antarctica occurs, and the number of glaciers that form its ice shield decreases.

The total area of \u200b\u200bthe mainland is approximately 14 million square kilometers. In the summer it is surrounded by 2.9 million square meters. KM Ice, and in the winter this area increases by almost 2.5 times.

Sooty lakes

Although the maximum thickness of ice in Antarctica is impressive, there are underground lakes on this continent, in which, perhaps, there is also life, millions of years evolving completely separately.

In total, it is known about the presence of more than 140 such water bodies, among which the most famous is Oz. East, located near the Soviet (Russian) station "Vostok", who has given Lake name. The four-kilometer ice stratum covers this natural object. Not thanks to underground geothermal sources under it. The water temperature in the depths of the reservoir is about +10 ° C.

According to scientists, it was the ice array that served as a natural insulator who contributed to the preservation of the unique living organisms, millions of years of developing and evolvedly separated from all the rest of the world of the icy desert.

Antarctica ice cover is the largest on the planet. By area, he surpasses the Greenland Ice Array about 10 times. It is concentrated in it with 30 million cubic kilometers of ice. It has the form of the dome, the steepness of the surface of which is increasing to the coast, where in many places it is framed by the shelf glaciers. The greatest thickness of ice in Antarctica reaches in some areas (in the East) of 4800 m.

In the West there is a continental deepest depression - Wpadina Bentley (presumably rift origin) filled with ice. Its depth is 2555 meters below sea level.

And what is the average ice thickness in Antarctica? Approximately 2500 to 2800 meters.

Some more curious facts

In Antarctica there is a natural reservoir with pure water throughout the land. It is considered the most transparent worldwide. Of course, there is nothing surprising in this, since it is no one to pollute it on this mainland. The maximum value of the relative transparency of water (79 m) was noted here, which almost corresponds to the transparency of distilled water.

In the valleys of McMarto there is an unusual bloody waterfall. He follows from the Taylor glacier and flows into the Western Lake Bonnie, covered with ice. The source of a waterfall is a salt lake located under a thick ice shield (400 meters). Thanks to salt, water does not freeze even at the lowest temperatures. It formed about 2 million years ago.

The unusual of the waterfall is also in the color of its water - bloody-red. His source does not experience the effects of sunlight. The large content of iron oxide in water along with microorganisms receiving vital energy by restoring sulfates dissolved in water - this is the reason for the color.

There are no permanent residents in Antarctica. There are only people living on the mainland a certain period of time. These are representatives of temporary scientific communities. In the summer, the number of scientists together with subsidiary personnel is approximately 5 thousand, and in the winter period - 1000.

The largest iceberg

Ice thickness in Antarctica, as noted above, is the most different. And among sea ice floes there are also huge icebergs, among which B-15, who was one of the largest.

Its length is about 295 kilometers, width - 37 km, and the entire surface area is 11,000 square meters. kilometers (more than Jamaica Square). Its approximate mass is 3 billion tons. And even today, after almost 10 years from measurements, some parts of this giant did not melm.

Conclusion

Antarctica is the place of wonderful secrets and miracles. From the seven continents, he was the last, openly open traveler researchers. Antarctica - the least studied, populated and hospitable mainland throughout the planet, but he is truly the most fabulous and beautiful and amazing.

The ice of the Arctic and Antarctic are not at all eternal. Nowadays, due to the impending global warming caused by the ecological crisis of thermal and chemical pollution of the atmosphere, the mighty shields of the water with a cold frost are pushed. It threatens a great disaster for a huge area of \u200b\u200bthe territory, which includes the lowland seaside lands of different countries, first of all, European (for example, Holland).

But since the glacial panel of the poles can disappear, it means that it once originated in the process of the development of the planet. "White caps" appeared - for a very long time - within a certain limited interval of the geological history of the Earth. Glaciers can not be considered an integral property of our planet as a cosmic body.

Comprehensive (geophysical, climatological, glaciological and geological) studies of the southern mainland and many other areas of the planet convincingly proved that Antarctica ice cover arose relatively recently. Similar conclusions were made in relation to the Arctic.

First, the data of glaciology (science of glaciers) indicate a gradual increase in ice cover over the past millennia. For example, a glacier covering the Sea of \u200b\u200bRoss, only 5,000 years ago was much less than the square than now. It is assumed that then he served only half of the current territory covered by him. Until now, as some experts believe, the slow intention of this Giant Ice Language continues.

Drilling wells in the thickness of continuous ice gave unexpected results. The cores clearly showed how to share the next layers of ice during the last 10-15 millennia. In different layers found spores of bacteria and vegetable pollen. Consequently, the Ice Schit continent Ros and actively developed during the last millennium. The climatic and other factors affected this process, since the rate of formation of layers of ice varies.

Some of bacteria antarctic ice frozen in the thicker (up to 12 thousand years old) managed to revive and explore the microscope. Along the way, a study of air bubbles, closed in these huge layers of frozen water was organized. Work in this area is not completed, but it is clear that in the hands of scientists was evidence of the composition of the atmosphere in the distant past.

Geological studies confirmed that the glaciation is a short-term natural phenomenon. The oldest of open scientists of global glaciation happened over 2000 million years ago. Then these colossal catastrophes repeated quite often. Ordovician glaciation falls on an era, remote from our time for 440 million years. During this climatic cataclysm, a great many marine invertebrates died. Other animals at that time did not yet exist. They appeared much later to become victims of the next seizures of freezing, covering almost all continents.

The last glaciation, apparently, has not yet ended, but for a while retreated. The great depths of the ice occurred about 10 thousand years ago. Since then, powerful ice shells, once covered Europe, a significant part of Asia and North America, remained only in Antarctica, on the Arctic Islands and over the water of the Arctic Ocean. Modern mankind lives in the period of the so-called. Internias, which will have to change the new onset of ice. Unless, of course, before they do not melt finally.

Geologists received a lot of interesting facts about Antarctica himself. The great white mainland, apparently, was once completely free from ice and was distinguished by a smooth and warm climate. Two million years ago, dense forests grew on his coasts, like Taiga. At the open ice, the spaces are able to systematically find fossils of a later, social time - the prints of leaves and twigs of ancient thermal-loving plants.

Then, more than 10 million years ago, despite the cooling started on the continent, the local expanses occupied extensive groves of laurels, chestnodes, lavrius, beaks and other subtropical plants. It can be assumed that these groves inhabited animals characteristic for the pore - Mastodonts, sabersubes, hipparones, etc. But much more striking the oldest finds in Antarctica.

In the central part of Antarctica found, for example, the skeleton of the fossil lizard luxurious - not far from the southern pole, in the outcrops of rocks. Large reptile two-meter length differed on rarity terrible appearance. The age of the find is 230 million years.

Lorezavra were, like other beasts, typical representatives of the thermal-loving fauna. They inhabited hot swampy shorts, abundantly overgrown with vegetation. Scientists have discovered a whole belt in the geological sediments of South Africa, overcrowded to the bones of these animals, which received the name of the limit zone. Something similar was found at the South American Continent, as well as in India. Obviously, in the early Triassic period, 230 million years ago, the climate of Antarctica, Industan, South Africa and South America was similar, since there could still have the same animals.

Scientists are looking for an answer to the riddle of the birth of glaciers - what global processes that are invisible in our era of Ingreland, 10 Millennies ago were a huge part of the land and the world's ocean under the hardened water shell? What caused such a sharp climate change. None of the hypotheses is convincing so much to become generally accepted. Nevertheless, it is worth remembering the most popular. Among the hypotheses can be distinguished by three, conditionally referred to as space, planetary climatic and geophysical. Each of them prefers a certain group of factors or one decisive factor that served as the root cause for the cataclysm.

The cosmic hypothesis is based on the data of geological surveys and astrophysical observations. When setting the age of sea and other breeds caused by ancient glaciers, it turned out that climatic catastrophes happened with strict periodicity. The Earth frozen at the time interval, as if specifically for this allotted. Each great cooling is separated from other periods, approximately 200 million years. So, after every 200 million years of the domination of the warm climate on the planet, a tightening winter was reappeared, a powerful ice caps were formed. Climatologists appealed to materials accumulated by astrophysics: what can be connected so incredibly a long time between several iterative (regularly manifested) events in the atmosphere and the hydrosphere of the space object? Perhaps with comparable on scale and temporary frameworks by space events?

Calculations of astrophysics are called as such an event - the turnover of the Sun around the galactic nucleus. The size of the galaxy is extremely large. The diameter of this space disk reaches the size of about 1000 trillion km. The sun is located from the galactic nucleus at a distance of 300 trillion km, so the full turn of our star around the center of the system is delayed on such a colossal period of time. Apparently, in its path, the solar system crosses some kind of area in the galaxy, under the influence of which another glaciation occurs on Earth.

This hypothesis is not adopted in the scientific world, although it seems convincing to many. However, the facts on the basis of which it could be proved or at least convincingly confirm, scientists do not have. Facts confirming the galactic influence on a million-week fluctuations in the climate of the planet are absent, except for the strange coincidence of numbers there is nothing. Astrophysics did not find the mysterious area in the galaxy, where the earth begins to freeze. The type of external influence is not found, because of which something like that can happen. Someone involves a decrease in solar activity. It seems to be a "cold zone" reduced the intensity of the flow of solar radiation, and as a result, the earth began to get less heat. But it is only assumptions.

Proponents of the original version came up with the name for the imaginary processes occurring in the star system. The full turnover of the solar system around the galactic kernel was named by the Galactic year, and a small interval during which the Earth remains in a disadvantaged "cold zone", - cosmic winter.

Some supporters of extraterrestrial origin of glaciers are looking for climate change factors not in the far galaxy, but within the solar system. For the first time, such an assumption sounded in 1920, his author was the Yugoslav scientist M. Milankovich. He took into account the slope of the Earth to the plane of the ecliptic and the slope itself of the ecliptic to the solar axis. According to Milankovich, the unpoled of great glaciation should be found here.

The fact is that, depending on these slopes, the amount of radiant energy of the Sun, reaching the earth's surface is determined in directly. In particular, different latitudes receive different amounts of rays. Changing over time, the interpretation of the axes of the Sun and the Earth causes oscillations in the amount of solar radiation in different parts of the planet and at some coincidence the circumstances leads to the staging of the change of warm and cold phases.

In the 90s. XX century This hypothesis has been carefully checked using computer models. Numerous external influences on the location of the planet regarding the sun - the orbit of the Earth were slowly evolved under the influence of gravitational fields of neighboring planets, the trajectory of the earth's movement was gradually transformed.

French Geophysic A. Berger compared the obtained figures with geological data, with the results of radioisotope analysis of marine deposits, showing changes in temperature over millions of years. Temperature fluctuations in ocean waters completely coincided with the dynamics of the process of converting the earth orbit. Consequently, the space factor could well provoke the start of the climate and global glaciation.

At the moment, it is impossible to argue that Milankovich's hypothesis is proved. First, it requires additional long-term checks. Secondly, scientists tend to adhere to the opinion that global processes could not be caused by the action of only one factor, especially if he is external. Most likely, it was synchronized by the action of various natural phenomena, and a decisive role in this amount belonged to the elements of the Earth.

The planetary-climatic hypothesis is repelled precisely from this position. The planet is a huge climate machine that guides the movement of air flows, cyclones and typhoons. The inclined position in relation to the plane of the ecliptic determines the inhomogeneous heating of its surface. In a sense, the planet itself is a powerful climate regulation device. And its inner forces are the reasons for its metamorphosis.

These internal forces include mantle currents, or so-called. Convection flows in the layers of the molten magmatic substance, the mantle layer underlying the ground crown. The movements of these currents from the core of the planet to the surface generate earthquakes and eruption of volcanoes, formation processes. The same flows cause the occurrence of deep splits in the earth's crust, carrying the name of rhythic zones (valleys), or rhyps.

Rift valleys are numerous on the ocean day, where the bark is very thin and easily breaks under the pressure of convection flows. In these areas, volcanic activity is extremely high. Here is constantly poured out of the depths of the mantle substance. According to the planetary climatic hypothesis, it is the outpacing of magma that play a crucial role in the oscillatory process of the historical conversion of the weather mode.

Rift faults on the ocean day during periods of the greatest activity are highlighted enough heat to cause intensive evaporation of sea water. From this, a lot of moisture accumulates in the atmosphere, which then falls on the surface of the Earth. In cold latitudes, precipitation falls in the form of snow. But since their loss is too intense and quantity is large, the snow cover becomes more powerful than this happens.

The snow cap is extremely slow, for a long time the arrival of precipitation exceeds their flow rate - melting. As a result, it begins to grow and converted to the glacier. The climate on the planet is also gradually changing, since it is formed a steady area of \u200b\u200bhaving ice. After some time, the glacier begins to expand, since the dynamic system of uneven arrival-flow can not be in equilibrium, and ice increases to incredible sizes and roll almost the entire planet.

However, the maximum of glaciation becomes at the same time the beginning of its degradation. Having achieved a critical mark, extremum, ice growth stops, having met the stubborn resistance of other natural factors. The dynamics acquired inverse nature, the rise was replaced by a decline. However, the victory of "summer" over the "winter" comes not immediately. Originally begins a protracted "spring" for several millennia. This is a change of short seizures of glaciation with warm membranes.

Earth civilization was formed in the epoch of the so-called. Holocene passionflash. It began about 10,000 years ago, and it will end, if you believe mathematical models, at the end of III thousand AD, i.e. About 3000 g. From this point on, the next cooling will begin, which will reach apogee after 8000 of our summer.

The main argument of the planetary-climatic hypothesis is the fact of a periodic change of tectonic activity in rift valleys. Convection currents in the depths of the Earth exchanging the earth's bark with a different force, this leads to the existence of such epochs. Geologists have materials convincingly proving that climatic oscillations are chronologically linked to the periods of the greatest tectonic activity of the subsoil.

Mountain deposits show that the next cooling climate comes in time, significant movements of powerful blocks of earthly crust, which were accompanied by the emergence of new faults and the rapid release of hot magma, both from new and old rifts. However, the same argument is used by supporters of other hypotheses to confirm its rightness.

These hypotheses can be considered as a species of a single geophysical hypothesis, since it relies on the data on the planet's geophysics, namely, it is entirely relying in its calculations on paleogeography and tectonics. Tectonics examines the geology and physics of the process of movement of the bark blocks, and Paleogeography studies the consequences of such a movement.

As a result of multi-million dollar displacements of the colossal masses of a solid on the earth's surface, the outlines of continents changed significantly, as well as relief. The fact that there are powerful strata nanos or bottom crashes on land, directly indicates advantage of the bark blocks accompanied by its bending or lifting in this region. For example, the suburbs are made in a large number of limestones, replete residues of sea lilies and corals, as well as clay rocks containing ammonite pearl sinks. It follows from this that the territory of Moscow and its surroundings at least twice flooded with marine waters - 300 and 180 million years ago.

Whenever due to the displacement of the huge bark blocks, or lowering, or raising its particular site. In case of lowering, the ocean waters invaded the continent, the onset of the seas, transgression occurred. When lifting the sea, they retired (regression), the surface of the sushi grew, and the mountain ridges rushed at the site of the former salt pool.

The ocean is a powerful regulator and even the Earth's Climate Generator due to its enormous heat capacity and other unique physicochemical properties. This water tank controls the most important air flows, air composition, precipitation and temperature in extensive sushi areas. Naturally, an increase or decrease in its surface area affects the nature of global climatic processes.

Each transgression significantly increased the area of \u200b\u200bsaline, while the regression of the seas significantly reduced this area. Accordingly, climate oscillations occurred. Scientists have established that periodic non-plaque cooling roughly coincided in time with regression periods, while the offensive of the seas to land was invariably accompanied by the warming of the climate. It would seem that another mechanism of global glaciation, which, possibly, is the most important thing, if not exceptional. Nevertheless, there is another climate-forming factor accompanying tectonic progress - in-formation.

The offensive and retreat of ocean waters passively accompanied the growth or destruction of the mountain ranges. The earth's crust under the influence of convection fluxes was wrinkled by chains of the highest peaks, then there. Therefore, an exceptional role in long-period climatic fluctuations is still to retrieve the process of the pea formation (orogenesis). Not only the surface area of \u200b\u200bthe ocean, but also the direction of air flows depended on it.

If the mountain range disappeared or a new one occurred, then the movement of large air masses changed sharply. Following this, the many years of weather in a given location was transformed. So, due to the property, local climates changed along the entire planet, which led to the general reincarnation of the land climate. As a result, the emerging tendency to global cooling only dial the pace.

The last glaciation is tied to the era of the Alpine Gorons ending in our eyes. The result of this orogenesis was the Caucasus, Himalayas, Pamir and many other high mountain systems of the planet. The eruption of Santorin volcanoes, Vesuvius, Unnamed and others provoked by this particular process. It can be said that today this hypothesis dominates in modern science, although it is not completely proven.

The hypothesis has received unexpected development, and Antarctica is in an annex to climatology. The ice mainland acquired its current appearance completely due to the tectonics, only the crucial role has not played regression and not a change of air flows (these factors are counted in the secondary). The main on the influence of the factor should be called water cooling. Nature froze Atlantis exactly the same technique, which person cools the nuclear reactor.

The "nuclear" version of the geophysical hypothesis is based on the theory of drift of continents and paleontological finds. Modern scientists do not question the existence of continental plates. Since due to the convection of the mantle, the blocks of the earth's crust are movable, then this mobility is accompanied by a horizontal displacement of the continents themselves. They slowly, at a speed of 1-2 cm per year crawled along the molten mantle layer.

What will happen if the Antarctic glaciers melt?

Antarctica is the most poorly learned mainland, located in the south of the globe. Most of its surface has ice cover, up to 4.8 km thick. Antarctic ice shield contains in itself 90% (!) Total ice of our planet. He is so heavy that under it the mainland asked almost 500 m. Today, the world observes the first signs of global warming on Antarctica: large glaciers are destroyed, new lakes are destroyed, and the soil is deprived of their ice cover. Let's simulate the situation that it will be if Antarctica will lose their ice.

How will Antarctica itself change?
Today, Antarctic Square is 14,107,000 km². If the glaciers are melted, these numbers will be reduced by a third. Mainland will become almost unrecognizable. Sub-ice are numerous mountain chains and arrays. The western part will definitely become an archipelago, and the Eastern - will remain a continent, although, taking into account the rise of ocean waters, it will not hold such status for a long time.

At the moment, at the Antarctic Peninsula, Islands and Coastal Oazis, many representatives of the plant world are found: flowers, ferns, lichen, algae, and recently their diversity gradually increases. There are both mushrooms, and some bacteria, and the coasts occupy seals and penguins. Already, on the same Antarctic Peninsula there is a tundra appearance, and scientists are confident that trees will be both warming there, and new representatives of the animal world. By the way, Antarctica holds several records: the lowest registered temperature on Earth - 89.2 degrees below zero; There is a largest crater on Earth; The strongest and long-lasting winds. Today there is no permanent population on the territory of Antarctica. There are only employees of scientific stations, and sometimes tourists are visited. With climate change, the former cold mainland can become suitable for permanent residence of a person, but it is now difficult to talk about this with confidence - everything will depend on the current climate situation.

How will the world change due to the melting of glaciers?
Increasing the level of water in the world Ocean So, scientists calculated that after the melting of ice cover, the world's ocean will rise by almost 60 meters. And this is a lot and will be equated to a global catastrophe. The coastline will move significantly, and under water will be today's coastal area of \u200b\u200bthe mainland.

If we talk about Russia, then its central part does not suffer strongly. In particular, Moscow is located above the current sea level by 130 meters, so that it will not get the flood. Such major cities like Astrakhan, Arkhangelsk, St. Petersburg, Novgorod and Makhachkala will go under the water. Crimea will turn into an island - only its mining will be tied over the sea. And only Novorossiysk, Anapa and Sochi will be sentenced to the Krasnodar Territory. Siberia and the Urals are not undergoing too large floods - mostly the inhabitants of coastal settlements will have to relocate.

The Black Sea will grow - in addition to the northern part of the Crimea and Odessa will also save Istanbul. The cities that will be under water will almost completely disappear the Baltic States, Denmark and Holland. In general, such European cities like London, Rome, Venice, Amsterdam and Copenhagen will go under the water with all cultural heritage, so that while there is time, be sure to visit them and stuff pictures in instagram, because your grandchildren are quite likely to do this can not. It is implanially and the Americans who definitely remain without Washington, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and many more coastal cities.

What will happen to North America. Signed cities that will be under water
The climate and so will undergo unpleasant changes that will lead to the melting of the glacial cover. According to environmentalists, Antarctic ice, Antarctica and those that are on the mountain peaks, help maintain the temperature balance on the planet, cooling it atmosphere. Without them, this balance will break. The receipt of a large amount of fresh water in the world ocean will probably affect the direction of large ocean flows, which largely ask climatic conditions in many regions. So with confidence to say that it will be with our weather, until it is impossible.

The amount of natural disasters will increase significantly. Hurricanes, Typhoon and Tornadoes will carry thousands of lives. No matter how paradoxically, due to global warming, some countries will begin to lack fresh water. And not only because of the arid climate. The fact is that the deposits of snow in the mountains provide water extensive territories, and after his melting there will no longer.

Economy
All this will strongly affect the economy, even if the flooding process is gradual. Take at least the United States and China! You do not want, but these countries are very strong on the economic situation around the world. In addition to the problem of resettlement, tens of millions of people and the loss of their capital, the states will lose almost a quarter of production capacity, which ultimately will hit the world economy. And China will have to say goodbye to its huge trading ports, which will reduce the flow of products to the global market.

How are things today?
Some scientists calm us the fact that the observed melting of glaciers is normal, because Somewhere they disappear, and somewhere they are formed, and thus saves the balance. Others note that the reasons for concern are still there, and lead convincing evidence.

Not so long ago, British scientists analyzed 50 million satellite images of Antarctic Ice Shields and came to the conclusion that their melting occurs very rapidly. In particular, it causes concerns a giant totten glacier, the size is comparable to the territory of France. The researchers noticed that he washed warm water, accelerating his disintegration. According to forecasts, this glacier can raise the world's ocean level for as many as 2 meters. It is assumed that the Larsen G can collapse by 2020. And to him, by the way, as much as 12,000 years.

According to BBC, in the year of Antarctica loses as many as 160 billion ice. And this figure is growing rapidly. Scientists say they did not assume such a rapid melting of southern ice.

The most unpleasant thing is that the process of melting of glaciers affects the increase in the greenhouse effect. The fact is that the ice coverage of our planet reflect some sunlight. Without this, the heat will be delayed in the Earth's atmosphere in large volumes, thereby increasing the average temperature. And the growing area of \u200b\u200bthe world ocean, whose water is collected warm, only aggravate the situation. In addition, a large number of melt water also adversely affects glaciers. Thus, ice reserves are not only on Antarctica, but also around the globe, they are faster and faster, which ultimately threatens big problems.

Conclusion
Opinions of scientists about the melting of Antarctic Ice Pokrov differ very much, but that it is known to be reliably so that a person has a great deal of activity on the climate. If humanity in the next 100 years will not solve the problem of global warming - then the process will be inevitable.

If you travel to the south of South America, you first get to Cape Froard on the Brunswick Peninsula, and then, overcoming Magellan Strait, the fiery ground for the archipelago. Its extreme south point is the famous Cape Horn on the shore of the Drake Strait, dividing South America and Antarctica.

If you go through this strait through the shortest path to Antarctica, then (of course, under the condition of successful swimming), you get to the South Shetland Islands and then on the Antarctic Peninsula - the very northern part of the continent of Antarctica. It is there that the Antarctic Glacier's most remote from the southern pole is the shelf Larsen Glacier.

Almost 12 thousand years who have passed since the last glacial period, the Larsen Glacier was strong as the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. However, a study conducted at the beginning of the XXI century showed that this Ice education is experiencing a serious crisis and can soon completely disappear.

As NEW Scientist's magazine noted, until the middle of the XX century. The trend was the opposite: the glaciers fell on the ocean. But in the 1950s, this process unexpectedly stopped and reversed the rapid pace.

Researchers from British Antarctic Survey concluded that since the 1990s, the retreat of the glacial masses accelerated. And if his rates are not reduced, then in the near future, the Antarctic Peninsula will resemble the Alps: Tourists will see black mountains with white snow and ice caps.

According to British scientists, such rapid melting of glaciers is associated with sharp air warming: its average annual temperature near the Antarctic Peninsula has reached 2.5 degrees above zero Celsius. Most likely, warm air is sucked in the Antarctic of the warmer latitudes due to the change in the usual air flow. In addition, the continuing warming of ocean water also plays a considerable role.

A similar conclusions came in 2005. Canadian climatologist Robert Jilbert, who announced the results of his research in the magazine Nature. Gilbert warned that the melting of Antarctic shelf glaciers could provoke a real chain reaction. Actually, she has already begun. In January 1995, the northernmost northern one was completely broken (that is, the most remote from the southern pole, which means that was in the very warm place) Larsen A glacier with an area of \u200b\u200b1500 square meters. km. Then, in several stages, Larsen B glacier was collapsed, much more extensive (12 thousand square meters) and located south (i.e. in a colder place than Larsen a).

IN final act This drama from the glacier broke off the iceberg, which had an average thickness of 220 m and an area of \u200b\u200b3250 square meters. km, which exceeds the country area of \u200b\u200bRhode Island. He was sustained only for 35 days - from January 31 to March 5, 2002

According to the calculations of Gilbert, for 25 years before this disaster, the temperature of the wash antarctica rose by 10 ° C, while the average temperature of the world's ocean for all the time passed after the completion of the last glacial period, has grown in just 2-3 ° C. Thus, Larsen B was "eaten" relatively warm water, for a long time undergoing its sole. The melting of the outer shell of the glacier, caused by an increase in the air temperature above Antarctica.

Seeking the icebergs and freeing the place that occupied them for ten thousand years on the shelf, Larsen B opened the road to slip into the warm sea for glaciers lying on either on solid ground or shallow water. The deeper into the ocean will slide "land" glaciers, the faster they will melt - and the higher the level of the world ocean will be, and the faster the ice will be melted ... This chain reaction will last until the moment until the last Antarctic will be dissolved in the water Glacier, predicted Jilbert.

In 2015, NASA (National Aerospace Administration of the United States) reported on the results of a new study, which showed that only a 1600 square meter remained from the Larsen B glacier. km, which is quickly melted and probably completely disintegrating by 2020

And the other day there was an even more informative event than the destruction of Larsen B. Literally in a couple of days, in the interval between July 10 and 12, 2017, from the south who is still south (i.e. in an even colder place) and even more extensive (50 thousand square meters) Larsen C glacier C will have a lot of approximately 1 trillion and about 5800 square meters. km, on which two Luxembourg would freely place.

The split was discovered in 2010, the growth of the crack accelerated in 2016, and at the beginning of 2017, the British project for the study of Antarctic Midas warned that a huge fragment of the glacier "hangs on the hair". At the moment, one giant iceberg was deployed from the glacier, but Midas glaciologists suggest that it may later split into several parts.

According to scientists, in the near future, Iceberg will move quite slowly, but it is necessary to observe: Sea currents can take it there, where it will be dangerous for the movement of ships.

Although Iceberg has huge sizes, his education in itself did not lead to the rise of the world's ocean. Since Larsen is a shelf glacier, then his ice is already swimming in the ocean, and does not rest on land. And when Iceberg melts, the ocean level will not change completely. "It's like a ice cube in your glass with Jean Tonic. He is already swimming, and if he melts, the level of drink in the glass does not change, "the glacist from Lida University (United Kingdom) Anna Hogg is intelligible.

According to scientists, in the short term, the destruction of Larsen C does not cause anxiety. From Antarctica every year fragments of glaciers are chipped, part of the ice will subsequently grow again. However, in the long run, ice loss on the periphery of the continent is dangerous in that destabilizing the remaining, much more massive glaciers - their behavior for glaciologists is more important than the size of icebergs.

First of all, the Aisberg's gap can affect the remaining part of the Larsen C glacier. "We are confident, although many others do not agree that the remaining glacier will be less stable than now," says the head of the Midas project, Professor Alan Lacmen. If he is right, the chain reaction of the breakdown of the shelf glaciers will continue.

As the Antarctic Peninsula is released from glaciers, the prospect of its settlement will be more real. This territory has long considered its Argentina, against which the United Kingdom objects. This dispute is directly related to the fact that the north of the Antarctic Peninsula is located Falkland (Malvinsky) Islands, which the United Kingdom considers their own, and Argentina is their own.

The biggest icebergs in history

In 1904, the High Iceberg's highest iceberg was found in 1904. Y Falkland Its height reached 450 m. Due to the imperfection of the then scientific equipment, the iceberg was not thoroughly studied. Where and how he finished his drift in the ocean, is unknown. He did not even have time to assign code and name their own. So he entered the story as the highest iceberg discovered in 1904

In 1956, American military icebreaker U.S. Glacier found Big Iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean, Oyuri Vishnevsky-traded from the coast of Antarctica. The sizes of this iceberg, who received the name "Santa Maria", were 97 × 335 km, the area is about 32 thousand square meters. km, which is more Belgian Square. Unfortunately, there were no satellites that could confirm this assessment. Having done a circle around Antarctica, Iceberg split and melted.

Iceberg B-15 Most more than 3 trillion and an area of \u200b\u200b11 thousand square meters became the largest satellite era. km. This icy block size with Jamaica spilled out from the Ross's shelf glacier adjacent to Antarctica, in March 2000, squeezing quite a bit in open water, Iceberg stuck into the sea of \u200b\u200bRoss and then collapsed into smaller icebergs. The largest fragment was named Iceberg B-15A. Since November 2003, he drifted into the Russian Sea, becoming an obstacle to the supply of three Antarctic stations, and in October 2005, also stuck and split into smaller icebergs. Some of them in November 2006 were seen only 60 km from the coast of New Zealand.

Yuri Vishnevsky