On Jan. 23, an iceberg measuring 600 square miles broke off of The Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica, equaling nearly the size of London. This iceberg is 150m thick, and two major cracks have been noticed in the iceberg for the past two years. According to scientists, this was not caused by climate change, but simply by natural causes. 

This is one of the biggest icebergs to break off of Antarctica and has caused a lot of discussion. Thankfully, the iceberg will not cause any major damage to the world. Before this, the biggest iceberg was 1668 square miles, which is about the size of Rhode Island. This occurred in March of 2021, just under a year before this iceberg broke off. These recent break-offs cause many to be concerned about what icebergs may look like in the future. 

BAS Halley Research Station, has been researching this iceberg since the break off. The station is located on the Ice shelf where the iceberg broke off, and is not in harm’s way after the incident. The break off has been expected for years, and they’ve been well prepared to stay safe. BAS Halley station provides continual information, to provide us the necessary details to understand the significance of the break off.  

Professor Dominic Hogsdon at BAS said, “Our science and operational teams continue to monitor the ice shelf in real-time to ensure it is safe, and to maintain the delivery of the science we undertake at Halley.”

While climate change was not the reason for the break off, warm temperatures have been detected in Antarctica. 

 “Low sea ice has been due in part to a large band of warmer-than-normal air temperatures, which climbed to two degrees Celsius above average over the Ross Sea,” Researchers at the Halley Station said.