Giant icebergs made from ice flowing over Antarctica have been surprisingly playing a huge role in climate change. These icebergs have been helping in the slowing down of climate change as they melt into the Southern Ocean by absorption of carbon dioxide.
While they may be considered to be a symbol of climate change, the bigger picture has a different story to tell. The nutrient-rich waters, which are a result of these melting icebergs cause the trapping of millions of tonnes of carbon.
These icebergs almost the length of Manhattan are likely to become a much more frequent affair in the coming years due to climate change. They are known for releasing nutrients like iron, which act as fertilizers for a tiny plant-like organisms in the ocean.
Researchers have examined about 175 satellite images of icebergs in the Southern Ocean, which surround Antarctica. Green plumes stretching up to 1,000km behind them have been discovered. The colour of these plumes is green due to blooms of phytoplankton. This phytoplankton depends on the iron and other nutrients, which are shed by the icebergs.
When the organisms in the ocean eat the phytoplankton and die, they eventually fall on the ocean floor. Thus, the carbon dioxide that has been absorbed by the organisms gets absorbed from the ocean surface. Finally, the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the global warming caused by it is eventually reduced.
These Manhattan-sized icebergs contribute about half of the ice that is floating in the Southern Ocean. As per calculations made by the researchers, the fertilization effect of the icebergs results in about 20% of all the carbon buried in the Southern Ocean. Thus, the Southern Ocean alone holds about 10% of the total carbon dioxide.
Image Credit: Allposters.com
