Iceberg calving event in Antarctica

The iceberg, which is located close to the Britain's Halley research station is similar in size to Greater London. The research centre had already been moved upstream as a result of cracks in the sheet and concerns that a mass calving event would occur in 2016/2017. Even though this event was near to the station, no-one was at risk as the use of the station has been downscaled over the past few years so no-one was actually in the base at the time.

There are fears now that the remaining ice shelf may have weaknesses as a result of the calving and only through satellite observations will the scientists be able to check this.

Whilst many will comment on this occurrence being linked to climate change, scientists based on Antarctica have not noted any warming events close to the sheet itself. They have stated that the reason for the calving is that the Brunt ice sheet is at its largest size for 100 years and therefore an event such as this is overdue.

For more on this event, including videos showing the ice rift, check out the following article:

Brunt Ice Shelf: Big iceberg calves near UK Antarctic base - BBC News