Larsen Ice Shelf Massively Calves

Pick your favorite analogy. The Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica is now 10% smaller because a chunk of it calved away. An iceberg the size of Delaware has been created off the coast of Antarctica. Our planet is now the owner of a one trillion ton iceberg. Note that this is sea ice, not land ice (like the 400 million tons being lost every year that was mentioned in an earlier post.) Sea ice doesn’t appreciably change sea levels, but the loss of the ice reduces the amount of radiation reflected into space, and uncorks land ice that’s been held back by the shelf. Larsen A and B each had similar events which led to the collapse of the Larsen A and B shelves. The good news is that the iceberg probably won’t wander into major shipping lanes. The bad news is that this is yet another polar ice loss event, and the poles are important to moderating global warming.

“Massive Iceberg Breaks Off From Antarctica” – NASA Climate Change