This is a quick final post to
summarise the recent developments of the Larsen C Ice Shelf on the AntarcticPeninsula,
which is monitored by the British Antarctic Survey.
Many media outlets are reporting the imminent calving of an iceberg up to 5,000
km2, (Figure 1) e.g. the BBC. It is only retained by a
final 20 km of ice. It is also reported in the Guardian,
which includes a helpful video. As it so recent, there is no peer-reviewed
literature on this development.
Figure 1: Map of the Antarctic Peninsula,
showing the current position of the rift.
Source: BBC
Although this will not directly contribute
to sea level rise (SLR), floating ice shelves such as Larsen C are important for buttressing marine-terminating glaciers, which transport land-based ice to
the ocean. Therefore, it is likely the eventual collapse of Larsen C will
indirectly contribute to SLR, on a longer time scale.
Images of the rift taken from the
air show the enormous scale of the ice berg:
Figure 2
Source: British Antarctic Survey
Figure 3
Source: BBC
