An iceberg four times the size of Manhattan broke off a glacier in Antarctica
A chunk of ice four and a half times the size of Manhattan fell off an Antarctic glacier. This marks the second time in two years that a huge iceberg has calved from the area. The break-off could speed up the loss of more ice, eventually eating away at a barrier that prevents land-based ice from flowing to the sea.
The Pine Island Glacier is located in West Antarctica, and has been one of the largest contributors to sea level rise on the continent, since it’s been losing ice at an accelerating rate over the past 40 years. In 2015, a 224-square-mile iceberg calved from the glacier. The latest cleavage, which was photographed by satellites over the weekend, has resulted in an iceberg about 103 square miles in area. It was the fifth big…
