NASA researchers have captured an image of a mysterious crack in Greenland's glaciers. The cracks had been captured when NASA made its Operation Iceberg. This is an airborne survey of polar ice.
Researchers photographed a new rift near the center of the ice shelf of the Petermann Glacier. The photo shows that this crack is near a larger known crack that is spreading towards the center of the glacier according to Live Science.
It is indicated that part of the glacier may break if the two rifts collide. However, the researchers made it clear that the new rift can be stopped by the flow of ice in the middle of the ice shelf. The new rift is not the first to be found since there were already rifts long before.
The Petermann Glacier is one of the largest glaciers that can be seen. This has been shrinking for the past years. There were already previous rifts that caused a massive breaking of the ice shelf. An iceberg broke away from the glacier in 2012. In 2010, an iceberg also went away from the glacier.
The report indicated that the rift may be caused by the warming of temperature of the ocean beneath the ice shelf. It is normal for the glaciers to crack on its sides. However, there are already several reports that indicate melting of the ice shelf because of the change of temperature.
Meanwhile, this new crack that has been discovered through Operation Iceberg is fund to be important as reported by CNN. The crack was found to be upstream that means it may weaken the ice shelf as it grows bigger in time.
The crack that has been found upstream of the glacier is said to be a unique one. It is noted that research in Greenland regarding these cracks is significant in order to know how these glaciers are moving along with the changing times.