An Antarctic ice shelf has been broken by a massive iceberg the size of Greater London. This is the second such break in around two years, according to researchers who disclosed the latest incident on Monday.
The break occurred near the United Kingdom’s Halley Research Station in Antarctica. According to glaciologists at the research station, the occurrence had no effect on the facility. The facility’s 21 current staff members continue to maintain the base and run its research instruments.
According to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the piece is 1,550 square kilometres (598 square miles). It broke away from the 150-metre-thick Brunt Ice Shelf about a decade after scientists discovered the Chasm-1 crack.
According to Reuters, the iceberg calved “after years of naturally occurring cracks that ultimately spread over the shelf and led the new iceberg to break free,” citing the research centre.
“This calving event was predicted and is part of the Brunt Ice Shelf’s natural behaviour,” stated BAS glaciologist Dominic Hodgson. “It has nothing to do with climate change,” he continued.
According to Science Alert, the Halley VI Research Station had to be moved in 2016–17 due to the extension of the Chasm-1. According to reports, at the time, cracks began to emerge in the ice, threatening to cut off the research center. Because the relocation crew is deployed there throughout the Antarctic summer months of November to March. They operate remotely the rest of the year, when temperatures dip below minus 50 degrees Celsius (-58 degrees Fahrenheit) and it is dark for 24 hours.
This is the second large calving incident in the last two years. Previously, in May 2021, an iceberg four times the size of Abu Dhabi broke off from the Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica and crashed into the sea.
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