A massive chunk of ice estimated to be 5,000 square kilometers in area will soon break-off from Antarctica, a dismaying phenomenon some scientists are attributing to climate change.
The fissure on Larsen C, the largest segment of the Larsen Ice Shelf, has grown by another 10 kilometers since the start of the year, bringing the rift's total length to 195 km. Only 19 km of ice now connects the future iceberg to it's the Larsen Ice shelf. The fissure is 300 meters wide.
Once the fissure extends from end to end, a giant iceberg larger than the U.S. state of Delaware will break off Antarctica to float into the Southern Ocean as a mammoth iceberg. This iceberg, one of the largest on record, will then break-up into smaller pieces over time as it melts in warmer waters.
Scientists estimate an iceberg this huge plus the land ice it would set free to melt in the ocean will raise sea levels by about four millimeters.
The loss of Larsen C "will fundamentally change the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula," said Project MIDAS, a British Antarctic research project that's tracking the crack.
While there isn't enough data to know to confirm if the split is a result of climate change, there's "good scientific evidence" climate change caused thinning of the ice shelf, said British researchers.
"When it calves (or breaks-off), the Larsen C Ice Shelf will lose more than 10% of its area to leave the ice front at its most retreated position ever recorded; this event will fundamentally change the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula," said the researchers.
"We have previously shown that the new configuration will be less stable than it was prior to the rift, and that Larsen C may eventually follow the example of its neighbor Larsen B, which disintegrated in 2002 following a similar rift-induced calving event."