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A team of researchers from the University of Southampton have finally solved the mystery surrounding a giant cavity that was first discovered in 1974 and reappeared in 2016 and 2017.
A unique opening in the ice continent is called a polynya, and it closed on its own two years after it was first discovered. Its size is estimated to be twice that of New Jersey.
Scientists reported discovering that ocean currents, winds, and increased salinity of water from melting sea ice created the holes. daily mail.
The opening was called Maud Rise Polynya, named after an underwater mountain in the Weddell Sea in the 1970s.
This phenomenon occurs every year along the coast, but what is unique is its scale and the fact that the sea level exceeds thousands of feet.
Aditya Narayanan, lead author of the study and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Southampton, said: “Mod Rise Polynya was discovered in the 1970s when remote sensing satellites were first launched to view sea ice in the Southern Ocean.”
“This phenomenon lasted for successive winters from 1974 to 1976, and oceanographers at the time assumed it would occur annually. “But after the 1970s, they occurred only sporadically and at short intervals.”
“2017 marks the first time we have observed such a large and long-lived polynya in the Weddell Sea since the 1970s,” Narayanan said.
“Ekman transport was the essential missing ingredient needed to increase salt balance and maintain mixing of salt and heat into surface waters,” said Alberto Naveira Garabato, co-author of the study.
Researchers have warned that polynya could cause sea levels to rise.