Calving is an entirely natural process wherever ice flowing on the land meets the ocean or large lakes.Įach year, 10,000 to 15,000 icebergs are calved worldwide, most of them on the small side, according to Canadian Geographic. The largest iceberg recorded calved off Antarctica in 2000: That one was about as big as the island of Jamaica.Īs for what's going to happen to this iceberg, Francis said that “over the coming weeks or months, the iceberg may move away or it could run aground and remain close to Brunt Ice Shelf."Īs huge as it is, this iceberg is still dwarfed by the chunk of ice that broke off Antarctica’s Larsen C Ice Shelf in 2017, which recently threatened to collide with South Georgia Island and is among the largest recorded at 2,240 square miles, Gizmodo said. There is no evidence that climate change played a significant role in this event, the BAS said. Exclusive seismic recordings captured the. A warming event caused an Antarctic ice shelf to melt in January 2016. The glaciological structure of this vast floating ice shelf is complex, the British Antarctic Survey said, and the impact of calving events is unpredictable. An iceberg twice the size of New York City is about to break off of Antarctica. Since the ice is already floating, the newly created iceberg won’t contribute to rising sea levels. ![]() Ice shelves are floating sheets connected to a landmass, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Our job now is to keep a close eye on the situation and assess any potential impact of the present calving on the remaining ice shelf." ![]() "Four years ago we moved Halley Research Station inland to ensure that it would not be carried away when an iceberg eventually formed. "This is a dynamic situation," Simon Garrod, director of operations at the British Antarctic Survey, said in a statement. The 12-person team working at the station left in mid-February, and the station is closed for the Antarctic winter. Credit: ESA European Space Agency The new iceberg is anticipated to be named A-81 with the smaller piece to the north likely identified as either A-81A or A-82. Glaciologists said the research station is unlikely to be affected by the calving event, which is what the breaking process is called. The iceberg, measuring 1550 sq km, detached from the 150 m-thick ice shelf a decade after scientists first spotted massive cracks in the shelf. The British Antarctic Survey’s Halley Research Station is on the Brunt Ice Shelf. More: Massive iceberg nearly the size of Delaware breaks off Antarctica The British Antarctic Survey said Monday that the iceberg is 1,550. ![]() The event wasn't a surprise: “Our teams at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have been prepared for the calving of an iceberg from Brunt Ice Shelf for years," BAS director Jane Francis said in a statement. On Sunday, a massive piece of Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf a chunk about the size of two New York Cities broke free. "The negative side is that this same melting, at such a large scale, dumps lots of freshwater into the ocean, which decreases salinity levels and makes the waters unsuitable for many phytoplankton and the zooplankton that feed on them.Watch Video: Iceberg larger than New York City breaks off AntarcticaĪ massive iceberg broke off Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf, British researchers announced.Īt 490 square miles, the berg is bigger than New York City, which is 302 square miles.Ī crack in the ice shelf widened several hundred meters Friday before the iceberg sheared off. The last major chunk to come off in this area was in the early 1970s, the BBC said. It measures about 43 miles by 28 miles, almost the size of Rhode Island, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. "On the positive side, as the iceberg melts, it will release a lot of nutrients that could benefit the growth of microscopic plants such as phytoplankton at the base of the oceanic food webs. He said this kind of thing can have both positive and negative impacts on sea life. The British Antarctic Survey said Monday that the iceberg is 1,550 square kilometers, or just under 600 square miles. Professor Geraint Tarlinbg has been tracking another giant iceberg, A76A, which is about 3200sq kilometres. While the iceberg breaking off is a sight to behold, there will be significant impacts on the area's ecosystem. "High precision GPS instruments, as well as satellite data, have been used to monitor widening of the chasm and in 2016 BAS took the precaution of moving the Halley Research Station inland to protect it." 3 October 2022 Article Geographical distribution and volume of Antarctic icebergs derived from ship observation data Yury A. "Since glaciologists first observed Chasm-1 widening in 2012, BAS science and operations teams have been anticipating the calving event," glaciologist Oliver Marsh said.
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