Dubai-sized iceberg on verge of split from Antarctic shelf

A Dubai-sized iceberg is very close to splitting off from one of the largest ice shelves in Antarctica, scientists say, after a fast-growing crack stretched to within 8 miles (13 kilometers) of the open ocean this week.

Last month, aerial observations showed that the crack had shifted toward the edge of the ice sheet and the open ocean, leading scientists to estimate that an iceberg more than 300,000 times the size of the one that sunk the Titanic could calve off as soon as summer.

The formation of the iceberg fits within a broader trend of shrinking ice shelves in the region, which scientists believe is linked to global warming.

The crack has grown an additional 11 miles (17 kilometers) in just the last week, according to observations released on Wednesday by Project MIDAS, a European research group that has been monitoring the region, making the iceberg's separation imminent.

"I would expect it to occur quite rapidly, within days or weeks," Dan McGrath, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey who has studied the ice sheet extensively, said on Thursday in a phone interview.

Source: Khaleej Times