Trillion tonne iceberg that broke off the Larsen C ice shelf is drifting out to sea; new cracks spotted!

Satellite image of a long crack in the Larsen C ice shelf, taken on March 8, 2017. (Image courtesy: NASA/USGS Landsat)

New Delhi: In November 2016, NASA's IceBridge mission reported with evidence that a massive rift had appeared in the Antarctic Peninsula's Larsen C ice shelf saying that it is close to breaking off.

An iceberg, the size of Delaware could be produced once the ice shelf breaks, scientists warned. As expected, earlier last week, the trillion tonne iceberg separated completely from Larsen C and as per latest reports, is moving out into the sea.

The iceberg, dubbed A68, is already shifting shape along with the remaining Larsen C ice shelf itself.

New satellite imagery by the Deimos1 satellite has revealed that A68 has traveled about 1.5 miles from the ice shelf it was formerly attached to.

The images show clear water between the berg and the ice shelf, which is about a quarter the size of Wales, and the Larsen C ice shelf.

The images also show evidence of another new major crack carving out a significant chunk of the ice.

#DEIMOS1 view of #Antarctica's #LarsenC ice shelf & recently calved #A68 #iceberg breaking into pieces pic.twitter.com/d23RNJiIVO — DEIMOS IMAGING (@deimosimaging) July 17, 2017

Furthermore, the new rift was spotted by scientists from Project MIDAS using Sentinel-1 interferometry data. They have been closely monitoring the Larsen C ice shelf and are the ones who first detected the calving of iceberg A68.

“A new rift appears to be extending northwards… and may result in further ice shelf area loss,” the statement reads, as per Project MIDAS.

A quick blog update on how Larsen C is responding to the calving of Iceberg A68: https://t.co/idWt1R80H2 pic.twitter.com/F9vBYTFZDU — Project MIDAS (@MIDASOnIce) July 19, 2017

As per the Scientific American, what remains of Larsen C is also reacting to the powerful forces of ice and water. The floating ice shelf is the smallest it has been in recorded history, and it’s searching for a new equilibrium.

Researchers will be monitoring changes to those rises as well as across the ice shelf to unravel what the future holds. While most scientists have said the rift that led to iceberg A68 is due to natural causes, the fate of the remaining Larsen C ice shelf — and other ice shelves that ring Antarctica — is intertwined with climate change. Rising temperatures could melt them and send land ice tumbling into the sea faster, raising sea levels around the world, Scientific American reported.

After the berg calved from Larsen C, Rod Downie, head of polar programmes at environmental charity WWF, said: “The sheer scale of this natural calving event is impressive – we will need to redraw the map of the Antarctic Peninsula.

“And whilst this is Antarctica doing what Antarctica does, it demonstrates just how fragile the polar regions are.

“The polar regions drive our oceans and atmosphere. But west Antarctica has experienced some of the most rapid rates of warming on the planet in recent decades, and that’s not good news for iconic species such as Adélie or emperor penguins.

“This demonstrates why we need to urgently and globally tackle climate change head on, starting in the UK with the UK Government outlining how we plan to meet our international commitments to reduce carbon emissions,” the Independent reported.