World's largest iceberg A76 confirmed in Antarctica
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Source: European Space Agency
According to the European Space Agency, a slab of ice estimated to be four times the New York City broke off from the frozen edge of Antarctica's Ronne ice shelf and fell into the Wedell Sea to become the largest floating iceberg across the world, reports Reuters.
The berg with a surface area of 4,320 sq km and called A-76 by scientists surpasses A-23A, also in the Weddell Sea, which has a surface area of 3,380. First detected by the British Antarctic Survey, it was later confirmed by the US National Ice Center in Maryland using the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission.
The Ronne ice shelf is one of the largest floating sheets of ice of the Antarctic, and periodic break-offs are natural. However, this has aggravated in the past few years, allegedly due to climate change.
