There is a new iceberg adrift in the ocean the size of the country of Luxembourg. No, it wasn’t global warming that caused it to break free in Antarctica but rather being slammed full on by the long adrift B9B iceberg of nearly the same size. The collision caused quite a shake-up, causing half of the floating tongue of the Mertz Glacier to sheer off. The B9B “gave it a pretty big nudge. They are now floating right next to each other.”

Experts say the shearing off of the ice tongue and the presence of the new Mertz and old B-9B icebergs could affect global ocean circulation particularly as the area is an important zone for the creation of dense, salty water that is a key driver of major worldwide currents. Particularly as they rub and bump together, these two icebergs may cause a major increase in smaller floating sea ice which affects the speed with which saline dense water descends to deeper levels and thus the creation of oxygen at deep levels of the ocean. The break-off could majorly affect ocean life, not only there but around the world. “There may be regions of the world’s oceans that lose oxygen, and then of course most of the life there will die,” said Mario Hoppema, chemical oceanographer at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Germany.

From the oceanography courses I took, I know that ocean currents may be significantly altered, which in turn will affect weather patterns as ocean and weather patterns have a symbiotic relationship. There is also the possibility that one or both in tandem may ‘bump’ back into the remaining half of the frozen tongue and knock that free as well.

Could this downstream effect a change in global temperatures over a long period of time? You bet, though in a very small way. However, in gauging global temperature changes, it is events such as this that need to be partialed out. Scientists need to identify how much of the variance these and other kinds of events account for in temperature change and how much human activity accounts for, in order for us to have a clearer picture of what is going on with our planet and how much we humans are the cause.