Larsen C Ice Shelf: Crack Now 8 Miles From Sea; Delaware-Sized Berg On The Brink Of Calving
A huge crack in one of Antarctica’s largest ice shelves has grown by another 11 miles, leaving an area of ice a quarter of the size of New Jersey hanging on by a section that is only eight miles long. When it eventually breaks away, it will become one of the largest icebergs ever recorded, scientists say.
Scientists with Project Midas, a U.K. based Antarctic research group, have been observing the growing rift on the Larsen C Ice Shelf for the last two years. In January, they said the crack had grown significantly and it was connected to the main ice shelf by 12 miles.
The crack continues to grow. In May, the team said another crack had appeared, branching off from the main fissure. “A new branch of the rift has been initiated,” Adrian Luckman, head of Project Midas, said in a statement. “This is approximately 10km [6 miles] behind the previous tip, heading towards the ice-front.”
In the latest update, scientists said the main rift has now turned towards the ice-front (the seaward edge of an ice shelf). This suggests that the time of calving—where icebergs break away—is “very close.” In an email to Newsweek , Project Midas scientist Martin O'Leary said: “[Until now] the rift has been growing more or less parallel to the ice front, so the amount of ice connecting the berg to the shelf has been more or less constant. However, this time around the rift has curved towards the front, so there's now only 13km [eight miles] remaining.”
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http://www.newsweek.com/antarctica-ice-shelf-larsen-c-crack-grown-618676
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