By Andrew Freedman
A large iceberg about 20 times the size of Manhattan (click here) broke off the Brunt Ice Shelf in the Weddell Sea section of Antarctica during the past day, following the buildup of a large crack in the floating ice during the past decade. The iceberg is about 490 square miles and about 492 feet thick, according to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
The iceberg is large, but not as huge as the iceberg that calved from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in 2017 and recently threatened to run aground on South Georgia Island.
The BAS maintains a research station on the ice shelf, known as the Halley Research Station, but it will be unaffected by this calving event, the organization said. In 2016, the BAS moved the station, which was built on skis, to protect it from spreading cracks that could’ve left it marooned, floating out to sea aboard an iceberg.
“This is a dynamic situation. Four years ago we moved Halley Research Station inland to ensure that it would not be carried away when an iceberg eventually formed. That was a wise decision,” stated Simon Garrod, director of operations at the BAS, in the news release. There is currently no one at the base, since it is staffed only during the Antarctic summer research season....
