Experts says calving of Larsen C Ice Shelf could be a positive sign

The vast iceberg, measuring 5800 square kilometres and weighing roughly a trillion tonnes, that broke off Antarctica this week can be read as a sign that the ice shelf is actually in fairly good health, scientists say.

The Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica in February
 this year. It broke away this week, according
 to scientists.

The huge berg calved away from Larsen C Ice Shelf sometime between July 10 and 12.

The approaching event has been monitored by scientists for months and marine physicist, Dr Natalie Robinson from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research said the separation was a positive sign.

"This is a normal, if relatively large, calving event, and is very different from the collapse of its neighbouring ice shelves," Dr Robinson said. "The fact that the Larsen C is able to calve such an enormous, contiguous piece of ice, is more indicative of it being in pretty good health, rather than the opposite.”

Read the story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Experts says calving of Larsen C Ice Shelf could be a positive sign.”