A chunk of Antarctica could soon break off and become an iceberg the size of Delaware
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
A three-mile deep, 70-mile long crack in Antarctica could soon cause a chunk of the continent to break off and float away as a massive, state-sized iceberg, Popular Science reports.
The piece of ice threatening to snap off comes from a region called "Larsen C" and only makes up about 12 percent of the ice sheet's total area. Still, it would create an iceberg the size of Delaware if it were to detach. Larsen C would then go the way of ice sheets Larsen A and B, both of which broke off the continent in a similar fashion over the last 20 years.
Usually ice sheets break up in much smaller pieces, but giant rifts such as the one growing in Antarctica now are becoming more and more likely due to what scientists believe are effects from climate change.
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
