Thread by @weatherindia

World’s Largest #Iceberg—Nearly Seven Times The Size of Mumbai—Forms in #Antarctica

weather.com/en-IN/india/en…

(📸:NASA/Chris Larsen)

A giant slab of ice almost seven times the size of Mumbai city has sheared off from the frozen edge of #Antarctica into the Weddell Sea, thereby becoming the largest #IceBerg in the world, according to the European Space Agency.

The #IceBerg dubbed A-76, measures around 4320 sq km in size—that is 170 km long and 25 km wide. In comparison, Mumbai’s total area is 603.4 sq km, while India’s capital city Delhi occupies about 1484 sq km.

#Antarctica

The enormity of the #IceBerg makes it the largest in the world, snatching first place from the A-23A iceberg (approximately 3880 sq km in size), which is also located in the Weddell Sea.

#Antarctica

The new #IceBerg was detected in recent satellite images captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission. It was spotted by the British Antarctic Survey and confirmed from the US National Ice Center using Copernicus Sentinel-1 imagery.

#Antarctica

The Sentinel-1 mission consists of two polar-orbiting satellites that rely on C-band synthetic aperture radar imaging, returning data regardless of whether it is day or night, and allowing year-round observations of remote regions like #Antarctica.

#IceBerg

After discovery, the names of the iceberg are traditionally derived from the #Antarctic quadrant in which they were originally sighted, then a sequential number, then, if the #IceBerg breaks, a sequential letter.

One example is the big #Antarctic iceberg, A-68A, that threatened a penguin-populated island off the southern tip of South America last year. Scientists feared that it would collide with an island that is a breeding ground for penguins.

#IceBerg

With the #Antarctic ice sheet warming faster than before, ice covers are melting to create more icebergs, especially around the Weddell Sea. As glaciers retreat, pieces of ice break off and float adrift until they break apart or crash into land.

#IceBerg