A rectangular iceberg more than twice the size of Manhattan broke off from an Antarctic glacier this week, adding to the already high number of giant icebergs floating in southern waters. The 58-square-mile iceberg C-17 broke loose from the Matusevich Glacier in the Ross Sea. Antarctic researchers have noted an increase in the number of massive icebergs calved from the continent in recent years, an indication of global warming.

The National Ice Center is monitoring the location of more than 40 massive icebergs near the Antarctic continent. The largest of these is called Iceberg B-15-B. At 1,080 square miles, it?s slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island. The Ice Center chart places it about 800 miles south of New Zealand. The most northerly of these giant bergs is A-22-C, roughly 42 square miles in size. It has drifted to a point about 650 miles south of Cape Town, South Africa.

C-17, which is still close to the Antarctic shoreline, will be monitored by satellite as it moves and shrinks or breaks up in seawater. The shipping industry is concerned that the high number of large icebergs in southern waters could become a navigational hazard.

To see image of iceberg,click here.

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