Scientists to continue to monitor largest iceberg

LONDON: A vast iceberg twice the volume of Lake Erie has broken off from a key floating ice shelf in Antarctica, scientists said yesterday.

The iceberg broke off from the Larsen C ice shelf, scientists at the University of Swansea in Britain said.

The process, known as calving, occurred in the last few days, when a 5 800km² section broke away. Researchers are watching closely to see whether climate change is affecting the phenomenon.

“We have been anticipating this event for months, and have been surprised how long it took for the rift to break through the final few kilometres of ice,” said Adrian Luckman of Swansea University. “We will continue to monitor the impact of this calving.”

Nasa and European Space Agency satellites have been monitoring the shelf – offering dramatic pictures of the break that heightened interest beyond the scientific community.

Researchers from the UK-based Antarctic project, Midas, have been monitoring the rift in Larsen C for years, following earlier research on the collapse of the Larsen A shelf in 1995 and the break-up of the Larsen B shelf in 2002.

The project, which is investigating the effects of a warming climate through a combination of fieldwork, satellite observation and computer simulation, describes the iceberg as one of the largest recorded.

“At this point it would be premature to say that this was caused by global warming,” said Anna Hogg of the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at the University of Leeds.