Monitoring Desk
CAMBRIDGESHIRE: An iceberg, nearly the size of London, has broken off the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica, according to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
There have been two huge breakdowns in the past two years in the ice shelf, which scientists initially identified as having significant cracks a decade ago. The BAS Halley Research Station is located on the Brunt Ice Shelf. The iceberg covers around 1550 square kilometers or 600 square miles. The researchers claim that this incident was predicted and was not caused by climate change.
According to a news release from BAS glaciologist Professor Dominic Hodgson, this calving event was anticipated and is consistent with the Brunt Ice Shelf’s normal activity. It is not related to global warming.
According to data center researchers, the low sea ice has been caused partly by a wide band of warmer-than-normal air temperatures, reaching 2 degrees Celsius above average across the Ross Sea in November and December. They observed that strong winds have also accelerated the decline in sea ice. Recent data show that the sea ice has not yet recovered, implying that the continent could end the summer with a new record for the second year.
Sea ice extent in Antarctica
Over the last two decades, the sea ice extent in Antarctica has fluctuated drastically between record highs and record lows. The size of the sea ice in Antarctica is highly unpredictable, unlike the Arctic, where scientists believe climate change is expediting its effects.
Satellite data stretching back to 1978 reveal that the region still produced record-high sea ice extents in 2014 and 2015. It then abruptly decreased in 2016 and has remained below normal ever since.
