Gargantuan Iceberg of 600 Sq Miles in Area Calves Away From Antarctica Ice Sheet

A massive iceberg 600 square miles in size, twice the size of New York City, has broken or calved off from an Antarctic ice sheet.

Sometime between 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM ET on Sunday, the iceberg, which has a surface area of nearly 600 square miles, finally detached from the Brunt ice shelf, which is 490-foot-thick, in Antarctica.

This break-away of icebergs, or simply iceberg "calving," occurred after years of the ice sheet developing cracks naturally. The final blow came when a crack known as Chasm-1 completely pierced the entire sheet of ice.

Antarctica and Its Ice Sheets

Around 70% of the world's freshwater is frozen inside incredibly huge ice sheets in Antarctica, the planet's coldest and driest continent. With only 8 inches or so of precipitation at its coasts and even less inland, Antarctica is regarded as a desert. At the then-Soviet-run Vostok station on the Antarctic Plateau, temperatures of -128.6 F were recorded on July 21, 1983, establishing it as the planet's coldest location. In the summer, coastal temperatures can reach 50 F.

According to Grant R. Bigg, a University of Sheffield emeritus professor in the UK, large ice sheets near Antarctica occasionally calve enormous icebergs as a result of the ice moving towards the sea naturally.

This section's eventual breakaway was anticipated for some time, so its occurrence is not unexpected.

According to Bigg, it has been anticipated for some time that a rupture will take place, and icebergs of considerable size have previously come from this region.

Gargantuan Iceberg at 600 sq miles.

Experts report that the gargantuan iceberg measures nearly 600 square miles, which is roughly twice the area of New York City at 302.6 square miles.

Adrian Luckman, a professor at Swansea University in the UK, told Newsweek that although an iceberg the size of Greater London might appear enormous, by Antarctic standards, it is a medium-sized iceberg. Luckman noted that a few other ones of similar size had also broken off in the previous few years.

Cnet reports that A74, an iceberg of comparable size, detached from the sheet farther east in February 2021. According to the British Antarctic Survey, The 490 square mile asteroid A74 has since strayed into the Weddell Sea.

The Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica is home to the largest iceberg ever seen, known as B-15, which broke off in March 2000 and measured a whopping 4,247 square miles, or roughly the same dimensions as the island of Jamaica.

This type of iceberg's calving from massive ice sheets can occasionally cause other chunks to break free as well.

Another Chunk Vulnerable to Calving

According to Luckman, how the rest of the shelf responds to the recent changes will determine whether this calving has any effect on the ice sheet itself. In any case, the effect is probably going to be minimal and won't be felt right away.

Luckman explained that at least one portion of the remaining shelf, which is roughly half the size of the new iceberg, is now at risk of calving.

Experts will be watching closely in the coming weeks to see if that stabilizes or, more likely, calved away.

However, the remainder of the ice sheet will largely be unaffected.

Hilmar Gudmundsson, a Northumbria University professor in the UK, told Newsweek that on the grounded portion of the ice sheet, this is unlikely to have a significant effect.

He said that It might cause some changes in ice flow velocities across the ice shelf, but he is not expecting this to have an impact on the upstream grounded ice feeding the ice shelf.

Also Read: River Found Under Antarctica Accelerates Ice Loss as Global Temperatures Rise

Climate Change? Just a Natural Cycle?

Although many glaciers and ice sheets have prematurely melted due to climate change and the warming atmosphere, experts concur that this particular calving is a normal part of the Antarctic ice sheet's natural cycle. The Brunt ice shelf had grown to its largest size in many years, indicating that sizable calving was imminent.

Luckman said that the Brunt ice shelf has recently decreased in size after reaching one of its largest known extents. The Brunt ice shelf has recently decreased in size after reaching one of its largest known extents.

Gudmundsson concurred, stating that ice shelves lose mass when sizable chunks break off occasionally. He said that this is a typical, natural occurrence, Newsweek reports.

According to the British Antarctic Survey, the US National Ice Center will name the new iceberg, which is expected to drift into the ocean along the same path as A74.

Scientists in Antarctica will keep an eye out for any new activity on the ice sheet.

Dominic Hodgson, a glaciologist from the British Antarctic Survey, stated that To sustain the delivery of the science they do at Halley Research Station and to make sure the ice shelf is safe, their operational and science teams continue to monitor the iceberg in real time.

Related Article: Melting Glaciers: Sign that Antarctica is Defrosting from the Bottom-up, Polar Scientist Warns