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The iceberg was released from the Brown Glacier in Antarctica on Friday, The Guardian reports.
The iceberg measures 1,270 square kilometers, is 150 meters thick and roughly the same size as London.
The formation of cracks in the glacier has been known for a decade.
The discharge took place 20 km from the British research station Halley, but none of the researchers were at the base at the time, The Guardian reports.
The station is operated by The British Antarctic Survey (BAS), which has reduced its presence there precisely because the risk of icebergs breaking loose has been considered high.
The station took pictures earlier this month of large cracks in Brunt, The Guardian reports. The formation of cracks in Brunt has been known for a decade.
“Something spectacular was expected to happen”
Adrian Luckman, a glaciologist and professor of geology at the University of Swansea in Wales, has examined Brown’s images in recent weeks to estimate when a major ice melt could take place.
“Although large ice discharges on Antarctic glaciers are a normal part of their operation, large discharge events like the one confirmed at Brown Glacier on Friday are quite unusual and exciting,” Adrian Luckman told The Guardian.
– With three long crevasses that have developed in the Brown Glacier over the past five years, we were all expecting something spectacular to happen.
Now time will tell if the large ice release will cause more smaller parts to be released in the future, Adrian Luckman tells The Guardian.
