Wispy streaks of ice spotted in Antarctica are a warning sign

Scientists have warned that a rare phenomenon witnessed in Antarctica might become common in the coming years because of climate change. A NASA photo shows eerie streaks of ice stretching across a narrow ocean channel in the continent. A combination of high winds and unusual ocean currents triggered the ice formation, LiveScience reported.

These ice streaks spanned an area of six kilometres in the channel of seawater between a massive, white ice sheet attached to Antarctica's mainland, known as the Ronne Ice Shelf, and a patch of fragmenting sea ice that is grey in colour towards the edges. Ronne Ice Shelf is and is known to give birth to some of the world's biggest icebergs.

According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), these ice streaks are made up of nilas, a type of super-thin ice that is less than four inches (10 centimetres) thick.

Nilas is formed when loose ice crystals merge into fragile sheets across a still surface. But in this case, NASA's Earth Observatory says that unusual whirlpool currents were created by high winds on the ocean's surface, stopping the sheet ice from forming. The nilas ice gathered at the currents' centres and was blown across the water.

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Nilas ice

The sea ice was blown so far off that it had a lot of space to stretch out.

The nilas ice after accumulating along the edge of sea ice appears pale blue in the photo. However, experts say this is unusual for nilas ice to be blue and only glaciers and sea ice appear blue because of being extremely dense.

These ice sheets will become common in the future because of the warming climate. This photo was taken in November 2021 and at the time thearea of the ocean around Antarctica covered by sea icewas much below the average that us usually recorded at that time of the year, according to NASA's Earth Observatory.

Winds can easily move around thinner and more fragile sea ice, and so as the climate continues to warm, these icy streaks will make more appearances in the future.