Vast iceberg bigger than Los Angeles breaks off Antarctic shelf

A enormous iceberg bigger than Los Angeles or Greater London has separated from the Amery Ice Shelf in Antarctica, the largest to do so in more than half a century.

The table iceberg, named D-28 by scientists, broke off the shelf in east Antarctica on September 26. It measures 1,636 square kilometres (632 square miles) in area, is 210 meters (689 feet) thick and weighs a massive 315 billion tons.

The iceberg will now be tracked because it poses a potential hazard for shipping. Scientists from the Australian Antarctic Program, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego have watched developments on the ice shelf for almost 20 years, after first spotting a rift developing in the early 2000s.

link: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/01/world/vast-iceberg-leaves-antarctic-shelf-scli-intl/index.html