Massive crack in Antarctica ice shelf grows 11 miles in only 6 days
A massive crack in an Antarctic ice shelf grew by 11 miles in the past six days as one of the world’s biggest icebergs ever is poised to break off.
The crack in the Larsen C ice shelf is now about 120 miles long, and only eight miles remain until the crack cuts all the way across, producing an iceberg about the size of the state of Delaware.
Adrian Luckman of Project MIDAS, a British Antarctic research project that’s keeping watch on the ever-growing crack, said it’s the largest jump since January. The full process is known as “calving,” the timing of which is “very close,” he added.
Once the iceberg breaks off, it “will fundamentally change the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula,” he said.
Read more at usatoday.com.
This Nov. 10, 2016, aerial photo released by NASA shows a rift in the Antarctic Peninsula’s Larsen C ice shelf. (Photo: John Sonntag, AP via usatoday.com)
This Nov. 10, 2016, aerial photo released by NASA shows a rift in the Antarctic Peninsula’s Larsen C ice shelf. (Photo: John Sonntag, AP via usatoday.com)