The calving of the 5,800 square kilometre iceberg leaves the Larsen C Ice Shelf reduced in area by more than 12 per cent, and the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula changed forever. The event occurred sometime between July 10 and July 13, said researchers who had been monitoring the growing rift in the West Antarctic ice shelf for years. 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. Although the remaining ice shelf will continue naturally to regrow, researchers have previously shown that the new configuration is potentially less stable than it was prior to the rift. The Larsen C Ice Shelf, which has a thickness of between 200 and 600 metres, floats on the ocean at the edge of The Antarctic Peninsula, holding back the flow of glaciers that feed into it.

Source: Indian Express July 13, 2017 10:18 UTC