Friday, June 05, 2009

Is 66 square kilometers a relatively large chunk of ice, or not?

1. When trying to convince you that satellite ice measurements are accurate, over 400 times 66 square km is a pretty small amount: Don't sweat it!
The average absolute daily difference between data from F13 and F17 was approximately 28,000 square kilometers (11,000 square miles).
2. When trying to convince you to panic over a chunk of ice breaking loose, just one 66 square km piece is "huge": "Huge ice shelf breaks off in Arctic" : Weather Underground
A huge ice shelf 25% larger than the island of Manhattan broke off of Canada's Arctic coast in 2005, according to a press release issued by researchers at the University of Ottawa's Laboratory for Cryospheric Research. The Ayles Ice Shelf, located on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island, was about 66 square kilometers in area and 100 feet thick.

No comments: