SPACE — As the earth continues to warm, more and more chunks of ice breaking off from glaciers and ice sheets are falling into the sea. The iceberg can actually be seen from the International Space Station (ISS), even though it only looks like a small white spot on the bright blue surface of the sea.
European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen has just shared a photo of an iceberg in the southern Atlantic Ocean in a post on X (Twitter). He admitted that he was shocked because he did not expect to see him.
“I have to admit that if you had asked before this mission whether I would be able to see icebergs with the naked eye from space, I would have answered ‘impossible,'” the orbiting laboratory’s Expedition 70 commander said in his post.
“It turns out you can! Lately we have seen a lot of icebergs in the South Atlantic. Maybe it’s because of the different geometry or maybe the contrast in color, but these icebergs are very visible from space,” he wrote.
Also read: A23a, the largest iceberg in the world moves after 37 years of silence, penguins’ lives are threatened!
Two photos Mogensen shared:
ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen shared a photo of an iceberg in the deep southern Atlantic Ocean on X (Twitter).
ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen shared a photo of an iceberg in the deep southern Atlantic Ocean on X (Twitter).
In his photos, Mogensen captured three much larger icebergs and several other fragments that usually break off as the icebergs move across the ocean. From the space station’s perspective, the photos show parts of the iceberg submerged. There are also sea waves breaking around the part of the iceberg that is floating on the surface of the sea.
“Seeing floating icebergs reminded me of climate change, rapidly melting glaciers and rising sea levels,” Mogensen said.
According to him, places like the Maldives will most likely no longer exist in the next 70 years. Because, it will sink slowly as sea levels rise.
Sea level rise is largely caused by melting glaciers, as water runoff moves from land to sea. However, as floating ice melts, it also weakens the oceans, lowering their density, and in turn causing sea levels to rise.
Also Read: 72 KM Iceberg Hits Penguin Refuge in Antarctica
Astronauts and Earth-observing satellites have recently observed several notable icebergs. The world’s largest iceberg, A23a, was seen drifting outside Antarctic waters after being stranded for more than three decades. In this case, melting has thinned the iceberg thereby strengthening its buoyancy, lifting it off the sea floor and drifting towards the South Atlantic.
2023-12-18 12:58:00
#Astronauts #Surprised #Movement #Giant #Iceberg #Outer #Space #Space #Space
