An iceberg the size of Greater London came off the Antarctic ice shelf years after the first cracks formed. Scientists, however, are skeptical of the role of climate change in this case.
Icebergs naturally break off from Antarctica into the ocean. (Representational image)Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Ordonez
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A giant iceberg, larger than the size of most European cities, has broken away from Antarctica, near a British research station, the British Antarctic Survey said Friday.
The iceberg measuring 1,270 square kilometers (490 square miles) came off the 150-meter-thick Brunt Ice Shelf in a process called "calving."
Scientists had been expecting a huge chunk of ice to break away for almost a decade after the first "vast cracks" had formed on the shelf.
"Our teams at BAS have been prepared for the calving of an iceberg from Brunt Ice Shelf for years," said the British Antarctic Survey director Professor Dame Jane Francis.
The events leading up to the major split began accelerating in November last year, BAS said in a statement.
Research base safe
The research station was moved inland four years ago for safety reasons. "That was a wise decision," said Simon Garrod, BAS director of operations.
Britain's Halley VI Research Station, which monitors the state of the vast floating ice shelf daily, is located about 20 kilometers from where the iceberg broke off.
The research station was uninhabited when the iceberg finally split as its 12-member team had left earlier this month ahead of the Antarctic winter.
Britain's Halley VI Research Station was moved inland four years ago for safety reasonImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/British Antarctic Survey/S. Burrell
While the team is away, scientists monitor the ice shelf using data from GPS instruments that are sent back to Cambridge, England, for analysis.
BAS, however, said there was "no evidence that climate change has played a significant role" in this case.
"Over (the) coming weeks or months, the iceberg may move away; or it could run aground and remain close to Brunt Ice Shelf. Halley Station is located inland of all the active chasms, on the part of the ice shelf that remains connected to the continent," Francis said.
"Our network of GPS instruments will give us early warning if the calving of this iceberg causes changes in the ice around our station."
February was the hottest month ever recorded in Antarctica. Climate change is having a severe impact on the remote region and the population of chinstrap penguins is heavily declining, as scientists recently found out.
Image: Reuters/U. Marcelino
On an Antarctic mission
A team of scientists from two US universities set sail on an Antarctic expedition at the start of this year. During several weeks at sea, they studied the impact of climate change on the remote region. More specifically, they wanted to assess how many chinstrap penguins are left in Western Antarctica compared to the last survey of their population in the 1970s.
Image: Reuters/U. Marcelino
Tame and curious
Chinstrap penguins inhabit the islands and shores of the Southern Pacific and Antarctic Oceans. They are named after the narrow black band on the underside of their heads. Even before the scientists can hear the birds' loud, harsh calls, a pungent smell of penguin excrement indicates that a colony is nearby. Penguins have not learned to fear humans, so they mostly ignore their visitors.
Image: Reuters/U. Marcelino
Shocking results
The scientists used manual and drone surveying techniques to count the chinstrap penguins. Their findings revealed that some colonies had experienced a drop of up to more than 70%. "The declines that we've seen are definitely dramatic," Steve Forrest, a conservation biologist who was part of the expedition, told Reuters.
Image: Reuters/U. Marcelino
Food chain is declining
Chinstrap penguins feed on small fish, like krill, shrimp and squid. They can swim up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) offshore each day to obtain their food. Their tightly packed feathers work like a waterproof coat and enable them to swim in freezing waters. But climate change is decreasing the abundance of krill, which is making it harder for the birds to survive.
Image: Reuters/U. Marcelino
Reproduction challenges
Chinstraps choose to nest in particularly inaccessible and remote places. When they procreate, they build circular nests from stones and lay two eggs. Both male and female work in shifts of around 6 days each to incubate the eggs. But as global warming is causing ice sheets to melt and is driving food abundance down, reproduction is becoming less successful.
Image: Reuters/U. Marcelino
Broader implications of a changing environment
There are an estimated eight million chinstrap penguins globally, which is why there hasn't been much concern about them thus far. But in the past 50 years, their population on the Antarctic Peninsula has declined by more than half. Chinstraps aren't in imminent danger of extinction, but the decline of their populations is a stark warning about broad environmental changes taking place.
