A TRILLION tonne chunk of Antarctica has broken off – and it’s four times bigger than London
A TRILLION-TONNE iceberg has snapped off the West Antarctic ice shelf.
The massive ice cube is four times the size of London and larger than the US state of Delaware.
It is about 350 metres (1,100 feet) thick.
“The calving occurred sometime between Monday, July 10 and Wednesday, July 12, when a 5,800-square kilometre (2,200-square mile) section of Larsen C (ice shelf) finally broke away,” the Swansea University said in a statement.
“The iceberg weighs more than a trillion tonnes, but it was already floating before it calved away so has no immediate impact on sea level,” the team said.
Icebergs calving from Antarctica are a regular occurrence.
But given its enormous size, the latest berg will be closely watched as it travels, for any potential risk to shipping traffic.
The break-off could heighten the risk of the remaining ice shelf disintegrating, the Swansea team said.
original source https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/4001471/a-trillion-tonne-chunk-of-antarctica-has-broken-off-and-its-larger-than-delaware/