[imagesource: needpix]

An iceberg the size of London has just broken off from the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica. Before everyone starts pointing fingers at global warming, scientists have confirmed that the 1550km square slab of ice was expected to break away from the shelf, and had nothing to do with climate change.

According to CNN, Researchers in Antarctica first noticed the cracks beginning to form almost 10 years ago, but in the last two years, there have been bigger breaks appearing, with the entire section now having dislodged.

“This calving event has been expected and is part of the natural behaviour of the Brunt Ice Shelf. It is not linked to climate change. Our science and operational teams continue to monitor the ice shelf in real-time to ensure it is safe, and to maintain the delivery of the science we undertake at Halley.”

Although it is not uncommon for ice shelves to break away as Antarctica cycles through seasons, scientists say that the last two years have seen record declines in sea ice, which can be attributed to warmer-than-usual air temperatures.

“There’s a link between what’s going on in Antarctica and the general warming trend around the rest of the world, but it’s different from what we see in mountain glaciers and what we see in the Arctic,”

Antarctica experiences extreme temperature fluctuations during its seasons, and the last few decades have seen variations between high and low periods. It is the polar opposite, the Arctic circle, has however shown signs of the effects of global warming. Antarctica’s wild and unpredictable climate makes these effects very hard to gauge.

[source: cnn]