A massive iceberg twice the size of New York City is about to break off the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The break could happen anytime in the next few months, and when it does, the ice shelf will shed an iceberg over 1500 sq km and 150 metres thick.
Ice headlands of Brunt Ice Shelf. Photo by: Universal Images Group via Getty Images
For decades, a deep, north–south rift in the ice dubbed Chasm 1 remained stable, but in recent years the chasm started moving northward as fast as 4km per year. In October 2016, the “Halloween Crack” appeared, moving eastward and forming what will likely become the intersecting point where the iceberg finally shears off into the ocean.
The chunk of ice is the location of the British Antarctic Survey’s Halley Research Station, but the station has been moved to another location in anticipation of the break.
In spite of the gargantuan nature of the iceberg, glaciologist Hilmar Gudmundsson of Northumbria University says the break is normal by Antarctic standards. ‘What many people do not realise is that this is a natural process and something which has happened time and again,’ Gudmundsson says. ‘We recognise that climate change is a serious problem which is having an impact around the world and particularly in the Antarctic. However, there is no indication from our research that this particular event is related to climate change.’
The western edge of the famed iceberg A-68 (TOP R), calved from the Larsen C ice shelf, is seen from NASA’s Operation IceBridge research aircraft. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images
It also isn’t the first gigantic iceberg to calve – or break off – an Antarctic ice shelf. In 2017, the Larsen C Ice Shelf shed a section of ice over 9000 sq km. But this is one of the largest breaks recorded on the Brunt Ice Shelf since Ernest Shackleton first surveyed the coast in 1915 – although Gudmundsson says a large amount of ice disappeared sometime between Shackleton’s first records and when the Halley Research Station was established in 1956, suggesting a break occurred in the intervening years.
The iceberg also won’t contribute to rising sea levels, either. Ice shelves are already floating on the ocean, and they displace the same amount of water as they add when they melt. ‘Once the iceberg breaks away from the Brunt Ice Shelf it is likely to drift towards the west and slowly break up into smaller icebergs,’ Dr Jan De Rydt, also of Northumbria University, explains.
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