Giant iceberg close to separating from Antarctic ice shelf

A piece of ice the size of the US state of Delaware is close to breaking off of from one of Antarctica’s largest ice shelves. The break could contribute to destabilizing the Larsen C ice shelf.

The rift runs hundreds of kilometers long.

A crack in the Larson C ice shelf reached within 8 miles (13 kilometers) of the ocean after expanding 11 miles (17 kilometers) in just the last week, scientists with Project MIDAS at the University of Swansea in Britain said on Thursday.

Scientist studying the region expect the 1,900-square-mile (5,000-square-kilometer) chunk of ice to separate from the Larson C ice shelf within weeks.

When and if it does, the Larcon C ice shelf would be 10 percent smaller and reduce it to the smallest size ever recorded.

“The rift in Larsen C is likely to lead to one of the largest icebergs ever recorded,” said Swansea University in Wales.

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