A 600 square kilometer iceberg, roughly the size of two New York cities, breaks off the Antarctic ice shelf
One of the most closely observed ice shelves on the planet just went through a big change. On Sunday, a huge chunk of Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf — a piece about the size of two New York cities — broke off.
The British Antarctic Survey said Monday that the iceberg is 1,550 square kilometers, or just under 600 square kilometers.
This is the second major break from the ice shelf, known as calving, in two years, although scientists have long predicted it would happen. According to the British Antarctic Survey, cracks have formed naturally throughout the ice shelf for ten years.
The Brunt Ice Shelf is located across the Weddell Sea from the location of another ice shelf that made headlines, the Larsen C Ice Shelf, on the Antarctic Peninsula. Last year, Larsen C ice shelf – which was roughly the size of New York and was long considered stable – fell into the sea.
It was the first time in human history that such a collapse occurred in Antarctica. It happened after atmospheric river brought unusually warm air to the area, and many considered climate change a possible factor.
But according to BAS glaciologist Dominic Hodgson, the latest iceberg detachment from Brunt is “not linked to climate change”.
“This calving has been expected and is part of the natural behavior of the Brunt Ice Shelf,” Dodgson said.
A large crack in the Brunt Shelf, known as the Gap, had been dormant for decades, but in 2012 scientists noticed a big change. It had been growing steadily since 2015, and in December last year researchers said it had “expanded across the entire ice shelf”.
This is the second time in two years that an iceberg has calved from the ice shelf.
The last one, called A74, formed in February 2021 – not even 5 years after a new fissure, known as the Halloween Crack, formed. It is slightly smaller than the last divergence, and has since drifted into the Weddell Sea.
The newest iceberg is named by the US National Ice Center. Scientists believe it is likely to follow the path of the A74 into the sea.