London-sized iceberg breaks off Antarctica ice shelf

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A huge iceberg almost the size of London has broken away from an Antarctic ice shelf near a research station, the second such break in the past two years, the British Antarctic Survey BAS said on Monday.

BAS said that the formation of a new iceberg as a result of a natural process called “breakaway” was not caused by climate change, which is accelerating the loss of sea ice in the Arctic and parts of Antarctica.

A 1,550-square-kilometer iceberg separated from the 150-meter-thick Brant Ice Shelf ten years after scientists first noticed the huge cracks on the shelf. Such a striking “split” the 1,270 square kilometer iceberg occurred about a year ago.

“This event was expected and is part of the natural behavior of the Brant Ice Shelf,” – said BAS glaciologist Dominic Hodgson. “This has nothing to do with climate change.”

NEW satellite image of the huge iceberg that has calved off the Brunt Ice Shelf in #Antarctica shows a clear break. Image was acquired late Monday by Suomi/NPP VIIRS satellite courtesy of @NASA pic.twitter.com/16go7kezUo

— British Antarctic Survey (@BAS_News) January 24, 2023

The British research station Halley VI daily monitors the status of a huge floating ice shelf, but the last break did not affect her.

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