Giant Iceberg Breaks Off Antarctic Brunt

Space.com

A 1550 square km (963 sq mi.) iceberg, designated A81 broke off Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf.  A time-lapse of the 'calving process' was captured by satellites.  Credit; ESA - European Space Agency

Transcript

00:00I

00:30An enormous iceberg has carved from Antarctica's brunt ice shelf.

00:54After several years of desperately clinging on, the berg broke away, as confirmed by satellite

00:59data.

01:02Scientists estimate the Newberg to be around 1,550 square kilometres.

01:08That's the size of Greater London, or five times the size of Malta.

01:14The brunt ice shelf borders the Coatesland coast in the Weddell Sea sector of Antarctica.

01:21Glaciologists have monitored the thick brunt ice shelf for years.

01:28The Newberg carved when the crack known as Chasm 1 split northwards, severing the west

01:33part of the ice shelf.

01:37It was only a matter of time before it would meet the Halloween crack.

01:41First spotted on, you guessed it, Halloween.

01:43After several years on watch for brunt iceberg carving, we finally witnessed a long-awaited

01:50separation of the western brunt ice shelf as iceberg A81.

01:56Routine monitoring from satellites offers unparalleled views of events happening in remote regions.

02:04The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission carries radar, which returns images regardless of day or night.

02:12This allows us year-round viewing, which is especially important through the long dark

02:17winter months.

02:21British Antarctic Survey's Halley 6 research station, where glaciologists have been monitoring

02:27the behaviour of the ice shelf, was relocated in 2017 to a more secure location after the

02:34ice shelf was deemed unsafe.

02:37The station has remained unaffected by the carving event.

02:41There are currently 21 staff working at the station to keep scientific operations running

02:47through winter.

02:49It is now around 20 kilometres from the line of rupture.

02:56Thanks to the Copernicus Sentinel satellites, together with in-situ and airborne measurements

03:00made by the British Antarctic Survey, the safety of the Halley base has been preserved.

03:07In February 2021, a giant berg broke off from the northern section of Brunt.

03:16Spotted by Sentinel-1, it has already drifted away from the Brunt ice shelf into the Weddell

03:22Sea.

03:23So what happens now?

03:25The carving of icebergs can speed up the flow of ice from an ice shelf.

03:29If Brunt now experiences an acceleration, it could influence the behaviour of other cracks

03:34in the area.

03:37The carving and separation of the latest iceberg, A81, now focuses attention back onto the Halloween

03:43crack, whose extension could contribute to further destabilisation of the remaining eastern portion

03:49of the Brunt ice shelf.

03:51We will continue using the Copernicus Sentinel satellites to closely monitor the behaviour and

03:56stability of the remaining Brunt ice shelf.

03:57Brunt ice shelf.

03:58Brunt ice shelf.

04:04Brunt ice shelf.

04:06Brunt ice shelf.

04:10Brunt ice shelf.

04:11Brunt ice heyes.

04:13Brunt ice shelf.

04:14You

Category

Transcript

Recommended