An iceberg twice the size of Manhattan has broken free from Greenland’s massive Petermann glacier, which could speed up the march of ice into northern waters, according to scientists.
This is the second time in under two years that the Petermann glacier has calved a monstrous ice island. In 2010, another massive ice chunk dropped into the sea. The new break was seen by Nasa’s Aqua satellite, which passes over the North Pole several times daily, and was noted by Trudy Wohlleben of the Canadian Ice Service.
“At this time of year, we’re always watching the Petermann glacier,” Ms Wohlleben said, because it could spawn big icebergs that invade North Atlantic shipping lanes or imperil oil platforms in the Grand Banks off Newfoundland.
A large piece of the 2010 iceberg did just that, but caused no damage, she said.
Nasa images showed the iceberg breaking off from a floating river of ice called an ice tongue, part of the Petermann glacier and moving downstream along a fjord on Greenland’s northwest coast. – (Reuters)