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A-76: The world's largest iceberg has broken off in Antarctica

iceberg.Image source, ESA/Earth Observation
Image caption,

The A-76 iceberg is around 4,320 square kilometres big, that's bigger than the island of Majorca.

An enormous iceberg has broken off in Antarctica.

Measuring in at around 105 miles (170 kilometers) long and 15 miles (25 kilometers) wide, the huge chunk of ice has officially claimed the title of the world's biggest iceberg.

Named A-76 (after the Antarctic quadrant where it was first spotted), the iceberg broke off from the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and is now floating in the Antarctic Weddell Sea, according to the European Space Agency.

Scientists have said an iceberg of this size breaking off is a rare occurrence, and they will be keeping an eye on its progress.

What is an ice shelf and why do they break?

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

A picture of the A-74 iceberg, which was calved from Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf in February 2021.

Around Antarctica, there are a couple of very big ice shelves - Ross is the biggest, followed by the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf.

Ice shelves are permanent floating sheets of ice, that act as a kind of barrier between the land, and the sea.

As they are a part of the ocean, ice shelves don't add to the sea levels, but if a whole shelf collapses, then then it can mean that the glacial ice on land can flow into the sea, raising the sea levels.

Every year ice shelves can grow a couple of 100 metres to a mile, before eventually a crack will begin to form in the ice, and a chunk may break off.

This is part of a natural cycle called calving that all ice shelves go through, and can take many years.

What will happen to it now?

Image source, Cpl Phil Dye RAF/Crown Copyright
Image caption,

The A68 iceberg was about 230m thick on average

A team of scientists and researchers from all over the world, including the ESA and the British Antarctic Survey, will keep tabs on the iceberg as it floats away from Antarctica.

This is to warn any ships that may be in the area to avoid it, and to make sure it doesn't get too close to land before it melts.

A massive iceberg called the A-68 caught the attention of the world, after it broke off in 2017, before finally melting earlier this year.