Antarctic iceberg double the size of Mumbai grazes dangerously against ice sheet; see viral image here

An Antarctic iceberg known as A-74 collided with its originator, the Burnt ice sheet, creating a huge crack in the sheet. The images of the collision were captured by the European Space Agency (ESA’s) Sentinel-1 pair of satellites.

Berg-watch!

The #A74 iceberg near collision with Brunt Ice Shelf as seen by @CopernicusEU #Sentinel1🚨
In early August, strong winds have spun the iceberg around the western tip of Brunt.
A-74 then gently ‘booped’ the ice shelf before heading southwards: https://t.co/JY8NeQjuwz pic.twitter.com/2qtqTMdPgW

— ESA EarthObservation (@ESA_EO) August 20, 2021

The A-74 iceberg had broken off in February but remained close by due to ocean currents. Measuring twice the size of Mumbai, the iceberg had collided with the ice sheet in early August. Strong winds led to the iceberg turning and brushing against the ice sheet, before continuing down south.

The crash barely avoided carving out another piece of the sheet. But a huge nose-shaped piece, larger than the A-74, still hangs from the Burnt ice sheet.

Mark Drinkwater, the ESA Earth, and Mission Science Division Head said that “if the berg had collided more violently with this piece, it could have accelerated the fracture of the remaining ice bridge, causing it to break away”. He added that the agency will continue to monitor the situation.

With the Burnt ice sheet being a remote region, such images are indispensable to studying the area. The radar images can capture pictures regardless of the weather or seasonal darkness.

The possibility of cracks in the sheet had led to the shifting of the Halley VI Research Centre by the British Atlantic Survey in 2017 itself. The centre has been moved to a more secure location.

This is not the first time the images of icebergs in the Antarctic region have elicited awestruck reactions. In May this year, the A-76 iceberg, half the size of the Andaman and Nicobar islands, broke off from the Ronne ice sheet. The iceberg was reported to be the largest in the world.