The size of ice from the Pine Island glacier that broke off into Antarctic was tiny compared to the icebergs in 2014 and 2015 .However, this scenario could prove the ice shelf's fragility.
According to NASA, Pine Island is one of the glaciers that are responsible for moving flock of ice from West Antarctic Ice Sheet to the ocean. Per year, it already gives 79 cubic kilometers of ice into the Pine Island Bay.
Scientists closely watch this Antarctic's Pine Island Glacier because of the evidence pertaining to faster loss of ice in the future. The approach is to lessen the after effect of the ice shelf wherein there is more inland outflow to the ocean and induced sea level rise.
As reported by Telegraph, the iceberg is the size of Manhattan. The photograph of the Antarctic's iceberg was taken between January 26 and January 31. Ian Howat, glaciologist in Ohio State University stated that the latest iceberg is ten times smaller than in July 2015.
In July 2015, a 30 kilometer long (20-mile) rift was formed beneath the ice surface then later broke into an iceberg spanning 583 square kilometers (225 square miles. Howat added that there are weaknesses in the inland ice-shelf that caused the "smaller breaks" of the 2015 calving.
NASA's airborne mission called Operation Iceberg have discovered and photographed a rift in November 4, 2016. More small rifts still persists on Pine Island measuring about 10 kilometers from the ice front. Some rifts are not seen because they are forming from the bottom (basal) of the shelf. The scientists predicted that the small and invisible rifts will result to further calving in the near future.
Pine Island's Ice Shelf is breaking inside out because it is being eroded by warm ocean water. Altogether, the holistic result of this phenomenon is primarily affected by changes in the climate and global warming.
