Press
A huge iceberg breaks off from Antarctica. Scientists, however, are not surprised.
Antarctica – A massive iceberg has broken off from the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica, scientists report. The iceberg is half the size of Hamburg – but according to experts, the break-off is not due to climate change.
Huge chunk of ice comes loose in Antarctica
The Brunt Ice Shelf, which is 150 metres thick, has released an iceberg with an area of 380 square kilometres, which is roughly the size of the British island of Isle of Wight, according to the research organisation British Antarctic Survey (BAS). This is the third break-off in this area in the last four years.
What is ice shelf?
Ice shelf refers to a sheet of ice that floats on the sea and is fed by glaciers, ice streams and ice caps. The ice plate rises at least two meters above sea level and is between 200 and 1000 meters thick. Ice shelves have an important stabilizing influence on the rest of the Antarctic ice sheet.
However, it is emphasized that the demolition that has now taken place is probably not related to the Climate change stands. Nevertheless, in October 2023, scientists expressed concern that more than forty percent of Antarctica’s ice shelves had shrunk in the last 25 years, which could accelerate sea level rise.
Two cracks meet in Antarctica – huge iceberg breaks away
A few weeks ago, a 14 kilometer long crack appeared in the ice shelf – at a right angle to an existing crack, which is called the “Halloween crack”. This meant that the iceberg would break off only a matter of time. The fact that icebergs break away from ice shelves floating on the sea is fundamentally a natural process in Antarctica.
“This calving has been expected since the Halloween crack appeared eight years ago and reduces the total area of the ice shelf to the smallest extent since monitoring began,” explained researcher Oliver Marsh. The term “calving” refers to the breaking off of large masses of ice from glaciers that end in the sea or inland waters. The condition was determined by analyzing GPS data. Since it was discovered, the Halloween crack has been steadily working its way through the ice.
As a precaution, researchers moved the station further into the country
BAS scientists discovered large cracks in the ice in this region around ten years ago. In response to this, the British research station Halley was moved around 20 kilometers further inland as a precautionary measure in 2016 so that it would not be at risk in the event of further demolitions.
During the Antarctic summer, from November to March, researchers are working on site. During the remaining months, the region is surveyed using satellite images from the space agencies Esa and NASA and the German satellite “TerraSAR-X”. (dpa/jh)
#Large #iceberg #breaks #Antarctic #ice #shelf