A gigantic iceberg, nearly four times the size of Delhi, broke off from a crucial ice shelf in West Antarctica on Wednesday, scientists confirmed. The iceberg, touted as one of the largest ever recorded, weighs one trillion tonnes and is spread across an area of 5,800 square-kilometer, with a thickness of 350metres. A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) satellite captured the separation of the iceberg, that occurred between Monday and Wednesday.
The breaking off of the iceberg, known as 'calving', was imminent and the scientific community worldwide had observed a developing rift in the ice-shelf known as Larsen C. Scientists had begun studying this ice-shelf closely after the collapse of Larsen A shelf in 1995 and Larsen B in 2002. Scientists have said that the calving of the iceberg has reduced the size of the Larsen C ice shelf by twelve per cent.
Researchers, who were part of the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) expedition team from India, explained that this was a typical process of calving of ice shelves, which is a natural phenomenon that may be accelerated due to global warming. "The intrusion of warm ocean water coupled with warm air-circulation chips away at the ice-shelves. When the warm water comes into contact with the shelf, it creates slopes eventually resulting in breaking away of icebergs," said Navin Pandey, a Ph.D.scholar from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Pandey was part of a 15-member NCAOR team that visited Maitri and Bharti, the two Indian research stations in Antarctica.
Pandey added, "Even though the development is definitely a matter of concern, we also need to study whether calving is happening in other parts of Antarctica too. As far as the iceberg that is floating right now is concerned, its impact will depend on how soon it comes into contact with warm ocean waters."
Thuptsan Angchuk, another Ph.D scholar from JNU, who had visited Antarctica in 2014, said that the continent has also seen ice rising in some parts. He added, though, that the volume of the iceberg is quite serious. "The huge volume of this iceberg is serious because formation of ice of similar volumes takes a lot of time. This will lead to sea-level rise ahead," said Anghcuk. Angchuk, too, visited the Indian research stations in Antarctica as part of NCAOR's expedition.
With inputs from agencies
THE LARSEN ICE SHELF
- Scientists had begun studying Larsen after the collapse of Larsen A shelf in 1995 and Larsen B in 2002
- Larsen C is the largest section of the shelf and the recent calving has reduced its size by 12 per cent
