Cracks on the surface of glaciers formed by stresses - a vivid evidence that the ice shields of the planet are in a vulnerable position. The direction and size of these cracks indicate how the ice shield flows to the ocean: they can be tiny, only millimeters wide, and sometimes they can reach meters, writes iflscience.

Sometimes these cracks on the body of glaciers can be covered with deceptive snow bridges, to overcome which requires appropriate protective equipment and rescue preparation. Where frightening cracks can look where ice meets with the ocean - in such places, according to scientists, their width can reach monstrous 100 meters. Now scientists have found that cracks grow and increase throughout Greenland.

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Researchers are not too surprised that the cracks throughout Greenland are becoming more and more: as the ocean heats up, the ice cover is accelerated in response, increasing the load acting on its surface. Alas, observations from satellites and personal field work are so scarce that today scientists do not have the slightest idea of \u200b\u200bhow much this process is happening widely and quickly.

In a new study, scientists inflicted cracks on the map throughout Greenland in 2016 and 2021 on the map. For this, the team used three -dimensional surface maps of the polar regions based on high resolution satellite images. Applying the methods of processing images to more than 8,000 cards, scientists managed to evaluate how much water, snow and air will be required to “fill” each crack throughout the Greenland ice shield. As a result, scientists were able to calculate the depth and volume, and also studied how they developed.

The results indicate that from 2016 to 2021 there was a significant increase in the volume of cracks in the fast -flowing sectors of the Greenland ice shield. In the southeast of the ice shield, in the area that in the past few years has been especially vulnerable to acceleration and retreat caused by the ocean, the volume of cracks increased by more than 25%.

At the same time, scientists found that the volume of cracks throughout the ice shield increased by only 4.3% - it surprised the team. Such results turned out to be closer to the balance than to the extremes observed in certain sectors. The team continued the study and found that a significant growth in some places was actually compensated by one source: an output glacier known as Sermek-Kuyallek.

Note that Sermek-Kuyallek is the fastest glacier on the planet. Studies show that its speed is almost 50 meters per day, which provides a huge share of Greenland's general contribution to the increase in sea level. The observations also showed that in 2016 the glacier reacted to the flow of cold water from the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, as a result of which its fluidity slowed down, and the glacier itself thickening. As this happened, the cracks on the surface began to close, compensating for growth over the rest of the ice shield. Alas, the slowdown did not last long and in 2018 the glacier returned to acceleration.

The authors of the study note that the cracks on the glaciers play an important role in their life cycle: as the cracks grow, the potential of the acceleration of the ice shield increases. Cracks also deliver superficial melt water to the very heart of the ice shield: when when the water can warm the ice inside and lubricate the bed along which the glacier glides. Alas, both of these factors contribute to the loss of the ice shield.

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