- MADISON, Wis. (Reuters) -
An iceberg of near-record size -- about twice as big in area as the state
of Delaware -- is breaking off from Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf and may
soon be adrift, the University of Wisconsin said on Wednesday.
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- The school's Antarctic Meteorological Research Center
said polar satellites clearly show the fissures outlining the oblong chunk
of ice 183 miles long and 22 miles wide.
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- "This is a very big iceberg, close to a record if
not a new record," said Matthew Lazzara, a scientist at the center.
"It's not often that you see them of this magnitude."
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- The iceberg is much larger than one that broke away last
October and posed a potential shipping hazard to vessels rounding Cape
Horn. That chunk was 40 miles by 11 miles.
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- The center said the new iceberg may soon be adrift in
the Ross Sea but no information was available on how soon or whether it
might pose a shipping hazard.
-
-
- Photos and information on the iceberg may be found at
http://www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/iceberg
and http://uwamrc.ssec.wisc.edu/amrc/iceberg.html.
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