IN what is being seen as a direct result of global warming, an iceberg has broken off the Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica. This was announced by the US National Ice Centre. The iceberg, which is called A-38, is 147 km long and 50 km wide. It covers an area of about 4425 sq km. It is the second largest in Antarctica, located in the southern Weddell Sea.

It was in 1987 that an iceberg, B-9, of such a size broke off from the Southern Hemisphere Ice Shelf in the Ross Sea. The National Ice Centre provides world-wide operational ice analysis for the US and allied nations. It is run by the US Navy and the US Coast Guard.

Ice shelves are massive floating sheets of snow and frozen water that circle the Antarctic mainland. The breaking off or the carving of icebergs is an important mechanism in the disintegration of ice shelves and may be an indicator of global warming, say researchers.