Iceberg Bigger Than New York City Breaks Off In Antarctica, Video Goes Viral On Social Media 

An iceberg larger than the size of New York City broke off from the Brunt ice-shelf in Antarctica on Friday (1 March). The iceberg measured 492 feet in thickness and had an overall area of 1,270 square km.

The section cleaved near Halley Research Station of British Antarctic Survey (BAS) which was closed for the season earlier this month. The research station likely will not be impacted by the break, reports CBS News.

Sharing the video of the process, BAS tweeted, “Brunt Ice Shelf calves along North Rift chasm - A 1270 km² #iceberg has broken off the #BruntIceShelf. #HalleyVI Research Station is closed for the winter and unlikely to be affected.”

As per the press statement released by BAS, their glaciologists have been expecting a big calving event for at least a decade.

“The first indication that a calving event was imminent came in November 2020 when a new chasm – called North Rift – headed towards another large chasm near the Stancomb-Wills Glacier Tongue 35 km away. North Rift is the third major crack through the ice shelf to become active in the last decade,” the statement read.

"The iceberg was formed when the crack widened several hundred meters in a few hours on the morning of 26th Feb, releasing it from the rest of floating ice shelf," it further added.