The British Antarctic Survey has found that an iceberg “almost the size of Greater London” has broken off the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
The agency shared in a press release that the iceberg calved after “cracks that have been developing naturally over the last few years extended across the entire ice shelf” resulting in it breaking free on Sunday evening.
BAS has its Halley Research Station located on the Brunt Ice Shelf — often regarded as one of the most monitored ice shelves in the world — but researchers have noted that the break has not made the site unsafe.
Scientists estimate that the iceberg is around 600 square miles in size.
The cracks were first discovered by scientists nearly a decade ago, but two major breaks have sprung up in the last two years and have resulted in the creation of the iceberg.
While climate change has resulted in the world’s oceans warming and more ice breaking off from Antarctica, researchers noted that the event was not caused by climate change.
“This calving event has been expected and is part of the natural behavior of the Brunt Ice Shelf. It is not linked to climate change. Our science and operational teams continue to monitor the ice shelf in real-time to ensure it is safe, and to maintain the delivery of the science we undertake at Halley,” Professor Dominic Hodgson, a BAS glaciologist, said in a news release.
Still, data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center has found that the event comes as Antarctica is experiencing record-low sea ice. Part of the reason for the 45-year low in sea ice is a large band of warmer-than-normal air temperatures that have hit the area.
As for the iceberg, scientists have shared that it will likely drift into the Weddell Sea, located just off Antarctica's northwest shore.
Like comets and asteroids, icebergs are also given names, but the BAS shared that the process is done through the U.S. National Ice Center.
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