The largest iceberg in the world broke off in Antarctica
The photo compares the size of the iceberg with that of the Spanish island of Mallorca | Credit: Courtesy
Photo: ESA / Observing the Earth / Courtesy
The largest iceberg in the world separates from Antarctica , reported the European Space Agency (ESA).
The block of ice of 1,667 square miles is more than three times the size of Los Angeles.
The images were captured by the Copernicus Sentinel 1 mission after the iceberg left from the Ronne Ice Shelf in the Weddell Sea, ESA reported.
Animation shows the largest iceberg ever measured. / Courtesy: ESA / Observing the Earth
The iceberg detachment is the breaking of pieces of ice from the edge of a glacier and a natural process that will not lead to a rise in sea level, because its volume already It was part of a floating ice shelf.
However, the collapse of an ice shelf could indirectly contribute to sea level rise.
Ice currents and glaciers constantly push ice shelves, but the shelves eventually run into coastal features like islands and peninsulas, creating pressure that slows down their movement towards the ocean.
If an ice shelf collapses, the back pressure disappears. The glaciers that feed the ice shelf are accelerating, flowing more rapidly into the sea. Glaciers and ice sheets rest on land, so once they drain into the ocean, they do contribute to sea level rise, according to the United States National Snow and Ice Data Center.
The A-76 was discovered by the British Antarctic Survey and confirmed by the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).
The U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center, which is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Navy, and the Coast Guard, c confirmed the iceberg detachment event the next day and recorded the position of A – 76 in the Weddell Sea.
“Iceberg A broke off – 76 on the western side of the Ronne Ice Shelf in the Weddell Sea and is currently the largest iceberg in the world, ”the organization tweeted.
The ESA said that icebergs are traditionally named after the Antarctic quadrant in which they were originally sighted, then they are assigned a sequential number and if later if the iceberg breaks off, they assign it a letter sequential.
What are the impacts of #Arctic is ice loss? Arctic sea ice loss contributes to Arctic amplification, coastal erosion, opens up the Arctic to shipping, tourism, and oil extraction, and affects the rest of the planet in multiple other ways. Learn more: https://t.co/GJ5oU0vKQC pic .twitter.com / dOOo 1200 bOp
– National Snow and Ice Data Center (@NSIDC) May 20, 2021
It is not uncommon for an ice shelf to crack and large icebergs break off of it, and those events occur naturally, as these sprawling, frozen shelves advance and contract.
Global warming can, for example , accelerate the retreat of an ice shelf and cause its collapse, according to the National Center of Snow and Ice Data.
