BBC News Online: Sci/Tech

World's biggest iceberg on the loose

What could be the largest iceberg ever seen has just broken free from the Antarctic's Ross Ice Shelf.

It could be the largest ever seen at 295km (183 miles) long and 37km (23 miles) wide, with a surface area of 11,000 sq km (4,250 square miles) - similar in size to The Gambia, Qatar or The Bahamas.

Watching closely

Matthew Lazzara, a scientist at University of Wisconsin-Madison's Antarctic Meteorological Research Center, said: "This is a very big iceberg, close to a record if not a new record. It's not often that you see them of this magnitude."

Scientists will be keeping a close watch on the iceberg because, being big, it may have a long lifetime even if it drifts northwards to warmer waters.

A more likely fate is, however, that it will remain trapped in the currents around Antarctica and stay relatively close to the coast.

Although conditions over the iceberg are fairly cloud-free, scientists have little information about it at present. There is a possibility of a USAF aircraft flying out to the berg to gather more information.

British researchers say the process is entirely natural and is not due to global warming.