Our Antarctica Maps Show the Larsen Ice Shelf's Stunning Decades-Long Decline
One of the largest icebergs ever recorded just broke off from Larsen C ice shelf—the third fracture on the Antarctic Peninsula in just over two decades.
One of the world's largest icebergs broke off from Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf and attracted global attention this week, but the Larsen shelf's deterioration has been in progress for more than two decades. Its dramatic decline is documented in successive images from National Geographic Atlases of the World.
Large chunks of the ice shelf can be seen disappearing in successive maps from the 1990, 2005, and 2015 editions of the atlas.
The decline continued Wednesday when a colossal iceberg the size of Delaware splintered from the Larsen C ice shelf. Measuring about 2,200 square miles, it is among the largest icebergs in history to break off from the continent.
The next edition of the National Geographic Atlas of the World is expected
