One trillion tonne iceberg breaks off Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctic

in #nature7 years ago


A one trillion tonne iceberg has broken off from an Antarctic ice shelf, changing the shape of the Antarctic Peninsula.

The much-anticipated calving from the Larsen C Ice Shelf reduces its area by more than 12 per cent, though the 5800 square kilometre iceberg won't have an impact on sea levels as it was already floating before breaking away completely. 

The iceberg also contains “almost four times as much ice as the fast melting island of Greenland loses in a year,” according to the Washington Post


 

Above: Size of the iceberg compared to good ol' Sydney in Straya.

Pretty big iceberg mate, pretty big.