Antarctic blizzard sends fuel containers floating on an iceberg: Here’s why

Scientists have been left stunned by an intense Antarctic blizzard that broke off a section of ice itself, sending shipping containers filled with fuel out to sea on a floating iceberg.

However, they look like seven little ants, but a closer inspection of the satellite image reveals something very different. The ants are actually large shipping containers filled with diesel and other packed with trash.

While the white paper is a huge iceberg, 500 meters long and 300 metres wide. The iceberg and shipping containers were observed floating off the coast of Antarctica earlier this year.

Meanwhile, seven shipping containers had been deployed a few hundred metres from the icy coastline in preparation for a vessel pick up of the station’s waste. 

The containers included one with 9.500 litres of Arctic diesel and four with municipal solid waste. The logistics team is working efficiently to uncover an iceberg measure around 500 metres that had drifted into the Weddell Sea.

In this connection, Germany’s Antarctic officials are considering evaluating the use of an aircraft to search for the missing containers.

It can be assumed that the iceberg has disintegrated shortly afterwards and that the containers have sunk to the seabed," the report stated.

It suggested the four containers with household items and rubbish would have “little direct impact on the ecosystem.”

However, the report said the container filled with fuel posed a much bigger risk.

“It can be assumed that it was either damaged by the fall into the sea or imploded on its way to the sea floor.”

The report identified Arctic diesel as a lighter and more volatile petroleum fraction than heavy fuel oil.

Reports further demonstrated that Antarctica’s low temperatures will slow down biodegradation in the open water or sea ice. While glaciological investigations including ice thickness and consistency will be conducted along the route from the Neumayer Station III to the ice port.

It is crucial to note that the report was presented at the annual Antarctic Consultative Meeting, which concluded in the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Thursday.