Iceberg larger than New York broke off in Antarctica

An iceberg of 1,270 square kilometers fell from the Brunt Plateau in Antarctica thanks to the growth of a vast ice rift, reports the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), whose research station is located in the region.

This fact occurs almost a decade after crevice growth was first identified in Antarctica. “BAS glaciologists, who were waiting for a big birth event for at least a decade, ”the organization said in a statement.

The iceberg, they detailed, is equivalent to the County of Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, and its size exceeds the area of ​​New York City in the United States. The researchers expected him to start November 2020, when the first signs of cracks were discovered. At the time, the 12-person team working at the station recorded that the North Rift sinkhole moved towards another large fissure near the tongue of the Stancomb-Wills Glacier 35 km away.

In January 2021, the crack began to grow at a rate of one kilometer per day until the Floating ice shelf 150 meters thick. On the morning of February 26, the fault spread for several kilometers and released the enormous chunk of ice in just a few hours.

BAS Director Professor Dame Jane Francis said that the iceberg of the Brunt platform has been monitored for years with an automated network of GPS instruments precision around the station, which are responsible for measuring how the platform moves and deforms.

In addition, satellite images of the European Space Agency (ESA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the German satellite TerraSAR-X to collect the data sent to Cambrige to know their condition, even in the absence of personnel due to the Antarctic winter with temperatures below -50 degrees.

“In the weeks or months to come, the iceberg may recede; or I could run aground and stay near the Brunt ice floe “, detailed the director, but if their movement endangers the position of the investigators, the GPS systems will send an alert to the investigators

Although the iceberg is located near the BAS station, Researchers say he’s unlikely to be affected by the score of the last few days. In fact, the station is closed for the Antarctic winter.

“The glaciological structure of this vast floating ice shelf is complex, and the impact of “calving” events is unpredictable. “, BAS detailed on the subject. As a precaution, since 2016, the Halley VI research station has been relocated 32 kilometers inland in order to withdraw from the passage between “Abyss 1” and “Halloween Rift”.

Neither of the two cracks have widened in the past 18 months, but as a precaution, staff are only sent to the station during the summer. During the winter months, the harsh climates would make it difficult to evacuate researchers successfully, the institution said.

The Halley VI Research Station is an internationally important platform for the observation of atmospheric and space weather in a climate sensitive area. In 2013, the station achieved Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) status from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), becoming the 29th in the world and the third in Antarctica.

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