A aerial view taken in Jan. 2021 and issued on Friday July 26, 2021 by the British Antarctic Survey showing a massive crack in the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica. A huge iceberg the size of the English county of Bedfordshire has broken off the 150-m thick Brunt Ice Shelf, almost a decade after scientists at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) first detected growth of vast cracks in the ice.(British Antarctic Survey via AP)
A huge iceberg, the size of the UK county of Bedfordshire, has broken off the Brunt Ice Shelf.
The phenomenon is known as calving and comes almost a decade after scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) first detected the growth of vast cracks in the ice.
The first indication that a calving event was imminent came in November 2020 when a new chasm – named North Rift – headed towards another large chasm near the Stancomb-Wills Glacier Tongue 35 km (21.7 miles) away.
It's the third major crack in the ice shelf that's become active in the last ten years.
During January, the rift pushed northeast at up to 1 km(0.62 miles) per day, cutting through the 150 meters (492 feet) thick floating ice shelf.
The iceberg was formed when the crack widened several hundred meters in a few hours on the morning of 26th February, finally breaking free from the rest of the floating ice shelf.
The calving is not expected to pose a threat to BAS's Halley Research Station which is located on the Brunt ice shelf.
A Minnesota utility began shutting down a nuclear power plant near Minneapolis on Friday after discovering water containing a low level of radioactive material was leaking from a pipe for the second time. While the utility and health officials say it is not dangerous, the issue has prompted concerns among nearby residents and raised questions about aging pipelines.
Riggs Eckelberry, CEO of OriginClear, which manufactures modular clean water systems, provided background on the water safety crisis in the U.S. He also provided best practices on how to test and filter water at home.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning of a rare and mysterious deadly fungal infection that is spreading at an alarming rate around the country.
