Half the size of Jamaica! Massive iceberg is about to break away from Antarctica - but will if affect sea level?

Iceberg will be one of the largest ever recorded.

The one of the largest icebergs ever recorded is about to break off from Antarctica. The iceberg is expected to be larger than half of the island of Jamaica. It will probably break free within the next two months.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - A massive iceberg is about to break off from the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica in the weeks or months to come. A deep crack in the ice, growing since 2010, is now expanding faster, prompting scientists to issue the warning. Icebergs can be a hazard to ships at sea. Pleasure cruises commonly visit Antarctica on the opposite side of the Antarctic Peninsula from the ice shelf.

The iceberg will be one of the largest ever recorded, although not the largest. That distinction belongs to iceberg B-15, that was larger than the island of Jamaica. B-15 broke off in 2000 and was 4,200 Sq. km in size. At least one small fragment persists to this day. The iceberg about to calve off the Larson-C shelf will be about half the size. It will still be massive, and it creates a concern for scientists studying sea levels. The glacier will be as deep as a 100 story building is tall, or about the height of the Empire State building.

While the iceberg will not impact sea levels, it is part of an ice shelf that could give way entirely. If that happens, the ice sheet on land, which is held back by the shelf, will eventually pour into the ocean and melt. Those glaciers store enough water to raise global sea levels by 20 feet. The likelihood of such melting on that scale is small, but if similar events occurred around the whole of Antarctica the disaster could mount quickly. This is what concerns scientists the most as more ice shelves threaten to collapse.

The rift in Antarctica is now 17 miles long, adding six miles in the last two months along. At that rate, it will calve completely within the next two months. However, the process is dynamic and it could take years, or just days to complete.

Scientists think global warming is playing a role in weakening and accelerating Antarctica's ice shelves. Warm water from below is driving much of the cracking that causes the shelves to fragment. They have also noticed the expansion of Antarctic ice, at the same time the continent is flattening. They have compared this expansion to the melting of an ice cream on a warm sidewalk, expanding in a pool as it melts.

Global temperatures have risen by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit since records were kept. Scientists expect the Larsen-C shelf will be less stable once the iceberg breaks away.

At the same time, the Halley VI research station has been relocated inland, following the expected breakaway of the ice shelf where it previously rested. The glacier produced by that event will be smaller than the Larsen C glacier, but it is expected to be very large by all other standards.
 

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