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. "Over (the) coming weeks or months, the iceberg may move away or it could run aground and remain close to Brunt Ice Shelf. Icebergs naturally break off from Antarctica into the ocean, but the process has been accelerated by climate change.īAS, however, said there was "no evidence that climate change has played a significant role" in this case. While the team is away, scientists monitor the ice shelf using data from GPS instruments that are sent back to Cambridge, England, for analysis. A big iceberg roughly the size of Greater London has broken away from the Antarctic, close to Britains Halley research station. Britain's Halley VI Research Station was moved inland four years ago for safety reason Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/British Antarctic Survey/S. 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. "That was a wise decision," said Simon Garrod, BAS director of operations.īritain'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 moved inland four years ago for safety reasons. The events leading up to the major split began accelerating in November last year, BAS said in a statement. "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. 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. The iceberg measuring 1,270 square kilometers (490 square miles) came off the 150-meter-thick Brunt Ice Shelf in a process called "calving." 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.
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