MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Giant 140 sq. km iceberg sighted approaching Australia

B17B is expected to melt and break into smaller bergs posing a hazard for shipping

A giant 140 square kilometres iceberg was spotted 1.700 kilometres south-southwest of Australia and creeping towards the island continent. The frozen mass, 19km long and 8km wide, is already far closer to Australia than icebergs normally travel.

The man who spotted the iceberg (known as B17B) on satellite images, Australian Antarctic Division glaciologist Neal Young, said it was certainly not in a hurry, moving at a fraction of a knot a day.

Dr Young said it was still heading north but its eventual destination depended on ocean currents, winds and storms. He believed it was likely to eventually shift eastward and then break up completely.

B17B has already melted from its size of 200 square kilometres six weeks ago to its current 140sq km. But Dr. Young warned that smaller bergs breaking off it would pose a hazard to any shipping in the area.

Dr Young said the iceberg was not linked to climate change, but was significant, given its size and position. Its position, 48.8 degrees south, is far closer to Australia than typical icebergs sightings north of 56 degrees south.

“This is way out of the zone” he said. “It's big and very rare.”

B17B is ten times the size of the iceberg that recently caused a stir when spotted heading towards New Zealand. B17B has also been a long time approaching Australia, having broken from the eastern end of the Ross Ice Shelf almost a decade ago and spending much of the past nine years drifting along the Antarctic coastline.