Alarm in Antarctica: an iceberg the size of Paris has broken off

A huge iceberg, more than 15 times the size of the city of Parisit broke away from Antarctica according to the announcement by British scientists, who attributed the fact to global warming, according to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

The 1,550 square kilometer block of ice broke off the White Continent on Sunday during a high tide of such entity as to widen an existing crack in the ice, called Chasm-1, specified the research organization

Two years ago, an iceberg of almost identical size, called the Brunt Barrier, had already formed in the same area.and on which the British research station Halley VI is located.

The strange situation of the glacier that broke away from Antarctica

The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has stated that the formation of the new iceberg – in a natural process called “calving” – it was not due to climate change, which is accelerating the loss of sea ice in the Arctic and parts of Antarctica.

The iceberg broke off the 150-metre-thick Brunt Ice Shelf a decade after scientists first detected huge cracks in the shelf.

A similar spectacular breakup occurred about a year ago, involving a 1,270 square kilometer iceberg.

“BAS glaciologist Dominic Hodgson explained that”this calving phenomenon was predictable and is part of the natural behavior of the Brunt Ice Shelf. That’s why it’s not related to climate change.”

The British research station Halley VI monitors the condition of the vast floating ice shelf daily, but it has not been affected by the latest breakup.

British stations studying icebergs in Antarctica

The glaciologists, present on the site from November to March, have been observing the progression of the large cracks in the ice for ten years.

The BAS Halley research station is located on the Brunt Ice Shelf. There, BAS glaciologists, who observed the behavior of the ice shelf, They claim that the area of ​​ice where the research station is located has not been affected by the recent landslides.

The glaciological structure of the Brunt Ice Shelf is complex and the impact of calving events is unpredictable.. In 2016, the BAS took the precaution of relocating Halley Research Station 23km inland from Chasm-1 after it began to expand..

Since 2017, personnel have only been deployed to the station during the Antarctic summer, i.e. between November and March.

Currently, 21 personnel are at the station working to maintain power and facilities that keep science experiments going through the winter.

Their work will continue until they are picked up by plane around February 6th.

Photo/AFP