AssetID: 54551022
Headline: RAW VIDEO: Iceberg The Size Of Chicago Calves Off Antarctica
Caption: A huge new iceberg the size of Chicago has been ricocheting off parts of the Antarctic coastline this January and February. Over the past month, the potato-shaped berg has drifted about 250 kilometers (150 miles) from its point of origin near the George VI Ice Shelf’s southern end along the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The iceberg’s journey is visible in these images and this animation, composed of satellite images acquired between January 15 and February 15, 2025. A rift on the George VI Ice Shelf remnant was evident in late 2024, but the iceberg-to-be was still hemmed in by sea ice at the Ronne Entrance—the bay that abuts the southern end of the ice shelf. By January 2025, most of the seasonal sea ice had melted, and ocean currents carried the new iceberg away. “I’m impressed by how fast it has moved in the coastal current,” said Christopher Shuman, a retired glaciologist with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. “It makes me wonder just what is happening in the water under the ice shelf.” Named A-84 by the U.S. National Ice Center, the berg measures about 30 kilometers (19 miles) long and 17 kilometers (11 miles) wide - giving it an area approaching the size of Chicago, Illinois. Iceberg calving is a normal occurrence for ice shelves. However, factors such as warming air and water along with decreasing protective sea ice can accelerate calving and lead to collapse, as has happened to several ice shelves along the Antarctic Peninsula.
Keywords: NASA Earth Observatory,feature,iceberg,antarctica,photo,video
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