Massive Iceberg Drifting Off Coast Of Antarctica May Be A Problem

[Systematic Chaos]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/13/iceberg-drifting-antarctica-270-square-miles_n_4268643.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

A massive iceberg drifting from Antarctica could spell disaster for international shipping lanes if it floats too far away from the continent.

So, to track the estimated 270-square-mile iceberg, the Natural Environment Research Council awarded an emergency grant of 50,146 pounds (about $80,000) to Grant Bigg, a geography professor at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. The funds will be used to help predict the path of the giant iceberg, which broke off Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier in July.

According to BBC News, Bigg explained that the iceberg began floating away from the glacier sometime in the last couple days. Earlier, during Antarctica's winter, the floe remained affixed to the larger part -- likely due to sea ice and cold winter temperatures.

"It often takes a while for bergs from this area to get out of Pine Island Bay but once they do that they can either go eastwards along the coast or they can … circle out into the main part of the Southern Ocean," Bigg told BBC.

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A little bit more at link. Namely, this thing is expected to last "several years".