Before and after: Brunt Ice Shelf

These images from Copernicus Sentinel-2 show the before and after of the massive slab of ice that broke away from the Brunt Ice Shelf. The image on the left shows cracks and chasms of the ice shelf on 25 October 2022, while the image on the right shows the ice berg breaking away from the ice shelf on 24 January 2023.

The new berg, estimated to be around 1550 sq km and around 150 thick, calved when the crack known as Chasm-1 fully extended northwards severing the west part of the ice shelf. This crack was first revealed to be extending in early 2012 after having been dormant for some decades.

The timing of the calving event, although unexpected, had long been anticipated. It was only a matter of time that Chasm 1, which had been dormant for decades, would meet with the Halloween Crack, first spotted on Halloween 2016.

Read full story: Giant iceberg breaks away from Antarctic ice shelf

A version of this image with the Dawson-Lambton penguin colony can be accessed by clicking here.