Iceberg bigger than Auckland on loose

ANTARCTICA: One of the biggest icebergs on record has broken away from Antarctica, creating an extra hazard for ships around the continent as it breaks up.

The 1 trillion tonne iceberg, measuring 5800 square kilometres, calved away from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica sometime between Monday and Wednesday this week, said scientists at the University of Swansea and the British Antarctic Survey.

The iceberg, which is 20 per cent larger than the Auckland region, has been close to breaking off for a few months.

Throughout the Antarctic winter, scientists monitored the progress of the rift in the ice shelf using the European Space Agency satellites.

‘‘The iceberg is one of the largest recorded and its future progress is difficult to predict,’’ said Adrian Luckman, professor at Swansea University and lead investigator of Project MIDAS, which has been monitoring the ice shelf for years.

‘‘It may remain in one piece but is more likely to break into fragments. Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters,’’ he added.

The iceberg, which is likely to be named A68, was already floating before it broke away so there is no immediate impact on sea levels, but the calving has left the Larsen C ice shelf reduced in area by more than 12 per cent.

The Larsen A and B ice shelves, which were situated further north on the Antarctic Peninsula, collapsed in 1995 and 2002, respectively.

‘‘This resulted in the dramatic acceleration of the glaciers behind them, with larger volumes of ice entering the ocean and contributing to sea-level rise,’’ said David Vaughan, glaciologist and director of science at British Antarctic Survey.

‘‘If Larsen C now starts to retreat significantly and eventually collapses, then we will see another contribution to sea level rise,’’ he added. – Reuters