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British scientists film massive rift in Antarctic ice shelf
The 1,500-foot-wide crack across Antarctic's Larsen C ice shelf has grown by roughly 20 more miles since December. It's now around 110 miles long, and based on satellite observations this month, an ice berg as big as Rhode Island could break away from Larsen C within weeks or months. A team of scientists from the British Antarctic Survey who've been monitoring ice shelves have captured the growing chasm on film to show us what it actually looks, as you can see in the video after the break.
An enormous iceberg is breaking away from the Antarctic
A vast slice of the Antarctic's Larsen C ice shelf is poised to break off in the next few months and form one of 10 biggest icebergs we've ever seen. If the iceberg does cleave, and it looks like it will, it'll be the result of a rift on the ice shelf that's been growing steadily over the past few decades. The rift suddenly grew by about 11 miles in December and is now 50 miles long with only 12.5 miles to go before it completely breaks away. The warmer water below and warmer air above the ice shelf could have contributed to the rift's sudden growth, but scientists have no direct proof at this point in time.
