Christian Science Monitor
A 300-square-mile portion of the Pine Island Glacier is expected to break off in the next few months, creating a massive Antarctic iceberg. The glacier is contributing the sea-level rise.
Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier is preparing to shed a 300-square-mile chunk of its ice to the ocean in a process of ice loss that has been accelerating in recent years.
Related stories
Even at 300 square miles, the chunk is modest by historical standards. In 1956, for instance, the crew of the icebreaker USS Glacier spotted a Belgium-sized berg from Antarctica floating near Scott Island in the South Pacific Ocean.
Still, the Pine Island Glacier's losses probably represent Antarctica's largest contribution so far to global sea-level rise, notes Hamish Prichard, a researcher with the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, England.
