An iceberg measuring twice the size of Luxembourg has broken away from Antarctica.
Scientists from the UK-based Project Midas had been monitoring the break in the Larsen C ice shelf - the fourth largest in Antarctica - following the collapse of the Larsen A ice shelf in 1995 and observed significant advances in the rift over the past 12 months.
The new iceberg, weighing more than a trillion tons, is now at the mercy of the ocean currents and could last for decades in the open seas, "creating an extra hazard for ships around the continent as it breaks up", says Reuters. It has an area of 2,239 sq miles (5,800 sq km).
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Speaking to CNN, Professor Adrian Luckman of Swansea University, said that while the birth of the huge iceberg might look dramatic "the event does not directly affect anyone, and repercussions, if there are any, will not be felt for years".
"However, it is a spectacular and enormous geographical event which has changed the landscape," he said.
Attention has now turned to the cause of the split. Big icebergs break off Antarctica naturally, "meaning scientists are not linking the rift to manmade climate change", says Reuters.
But "while there is no evidence that the calving of the giant iceberg is linked to such processes", says The Guardian, Twila Moon, a glacier expert at the US National Ice and Snow Data Center, told the paper that climate change could have made the situation "more likely".
n area of 2,239 sq miles (5,800 sq km),
-
6 well-crafted log homesFeature Featuring a floor-to-ceiling rock fireplace in Montana and a Tulikivi stove in New York
-
‘The nonviolence resulted from the organizers’ message’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
