There’s a new giant iceberg ‘free’. the A block of ice with an area of 1,550 square kilometers and a thickness of 150 meterscapable of “accommodating” 15 cities the size of Lisbon, completely separated from Brunt’s platform, in Antarctica, last Sunday.
Although the region is threatened by global warming, The disruption was not directly caused by climate changenote British Antarctic Survey (BAS) who provided the information at that time, being somewhat related to the strong spring tide recordedwhich enlarged the existing crack.
known as Chasm-1, The notch that led to the rupture was first identified in early 2012, after being inactive for a few decades. Images recorded by the Copernicus Sentinel missions visually confirm this Total “cutting” of the block with the rest of the ice shelf.
See pictures of the glacier
The new giant iceberg should be known as A-81and the smaller part that snapped off as the A-81A or A-82. Icebergs are traditionally identified by a capital letter denoting the quadrant of the Antarctic Circle where they were originally seen, followed by a serial number, explains the European Space Agency. If the iceberg breaks into smaller pieces, a concatenated letter suffix is added.
Glaciologists know that Iceberg separation is often followed by modifications in ice flow toward the ‘main shelf’.. If this occurs, the acceleration of the flow may, in this way, affect the behavior of other cracks on the Brunt platform, Experts note.
A-81 enters the top of the largest icebergs. its main competitors A-68 with an area of 5,800 square kilometerswhich broke off from the Larsen-C ice shelf in July 2017, and The A-76 has an area of 4,320 square kilometres When, in May 2021, it broke away from the Ronne Ice Shelf.
