Our observations show that Antarctic ice shelves gained 661 Gt of ice mass over the past decade, whereas the steady-state approach would estimate substantial ice loss over the same period, demonstrating the importance of using time-variable calving flux observations to measure change.
A huge iceberg, some 1550 km², almost the size of Greater London, has broken off the 150m thick Brunt Ice Shelf. It calved after cracks that have been developing naturally over the last few years extended across the entire ice shelf, causing the new iceberg to break free. This occurred on Sunday 22 January between 19.00 and 20.00 UTC during a spring tide.
New satellite images show the massive iceberg that broke away from the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica on Sunday night. It has an area of 600 square miles (1,550 km²) - almost the size of Greater London.