Lowenstein says Titanic today might dodge better but would encounter more icebergs
The Titanic hit an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland, but it probably didn’t hit one the size of Manhattan.
As oceans warm and global ambient temperatures rise, glaciers in Greenland and ice sheets in the Antarctic are calving bigger and more numerous icebergs. One the size of Manhattan floated free from Greenland in 2010, as seen in this video.
April 15 marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, which sank after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage in 1912. Ships are less likely to hit an iceberg today than they were then – thanks mostly to radar – but as we move into a season of remembrance with the 3D re-release of the global blockbuster film “Titanic” and a number of other commemorative events, it’s important to realize that climate change has made the problem of icebergs clogging sea lanes worse, not better.
Frank Lowenstein, climate adaption strategy leader at the Nature Conservancy, wrote a blog post on the topic last week.