A very large iceberg, measuring 78 kilometres long and 39 kilometres wide has broken off from the Mertz Glacier Tongue in the Australian Antarctic Territory after another iceberg measuring 97 kilometres long (B9B) collided with it on the 12th or 13th of February. The event was discovered by Australian and French researchers during a joint study that began in 2007 during the International Polar Year.
For further information on this event, please visit the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC) website at http://www.acecrc.org.au/drawpage.cgi?pid=news&sid=news_media&aid=797707 or the Austrlian Antarctic Division's website at http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=37551. You may also view images and a more in-depth description of the event in the media release here.
Photo: Neil Young
Photo: Neil Young
Photo: Barbara Wienecke, Mertz Glacier Tongue