Whale ‘graveyard’ revealed by rapid retreat of an Arctic glacier
Scientists discovered that a The glacier in the Russian Arctic withdraws Extremely quickly – and his fast retirement exhibited a cemetery of old whale bone.
The research expedition landed on the island of Wilczek, in the far north of Russia, earlier this year to study permafrost, according to a statement of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) in Russia.
Using satellite images, the team compared the current and past positions of the glacier, Nikita Demidovsaid a geologist Aari, in the press release. Scientists found that the ice cap on the island had divided into two parts over a period of less than 20 years.
The decline of this glacier is part of a wider change – a study From February, since 2000, glaciers have lost around 5% of their ice in the world.
In relation: The spectacular transformation of the Arctic landscape can be permanent
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Schism in the ice revealed several square miles from the island’s surface, which contained a large number of whale bones. Some skeletons are well preserved. Demidov noted that the bones are the least preserved near the seaside, where they had more thaw and are better kept as close as possible to the glacier.
“The paleontological discovery indicates an episode of extremely rapid sea level change in the region of the most northern archipelago of Eurasia, which occurred in the last thousands,” he said.
The shipment takes place from a Russian ship designed by ice called professor Molchanov and will continue until August, according to Russian state news agency Tass.
