Trillion tonne ice berg breaks free
July 25, 2017
A giant iceberg has broken away from Antartica after the enormous crack that scientists have been closely watching finally gave way.
The giant block is estimated to cover an area of roughly 6000 sq km, which is roughly three times the size of Stewart Island!
The crack was near to an important scientific research station, which was based at the Brunt Ice Shelf. The research station has had to move to a new location.
Now, the block of ice has broken away from the icy continent, forming one of the biggest icebergs that has ever been recorded, weighing a whopping TRILLION tonnes!
It is believed the iceberg finally broke away at some point between Monday and Wednesday.
It has not caught people by surprise though. Scientists have been monitoring the crack for more than 10 years and expected that this would happen at some point.
It is believed the iceberg finally broke away at some point between Monday and Wednesday.
It has not caught people by surprise though. Scientists have been monitoring the crack for more than 10 years and expected that this would happen at some point.
It will be important to see what happens to it now as it could get in the way of ships’ routes, depending where it travels to.
Chris Borstad, from the University Centre in Svalbard, says: “At this stage, we really don’t know whether there is some larger-scale process that might be weakening this zone, like ocean melting at the base of the shelf, or whether the current rift was just a random event that was bound to happen at some point.”
Chris Borstad, from the University Centre in Svalbard, says: “At this stage, we really don’t know whether there is some larger-scale process that might be weakening this zone, like ocean melting at the base of the shelf, or whether the current rift was just a random event that was bound to happen at some point.”
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