Trillion-Ton Ice Sheet Breaks Off Of Antarctica

July 12, 2017

This Nov. 10, 2016 aerial photo released by NASA, shows a rift in the Antarctic Peninsula's Larsen C ice shelf. A vast iceberg with twice the volume of Lake Erie has broken off from a key floating ice shelf in Antarctica, scientists said Wednesday July 12, 2017 . The iceberg broke off from the Larsen C ice shelf, scientists at the University of Swansea in Britain said. The iceberg, which is likely to be named A68, is described as weighing 1 trillion tons (1.12 trillion U.S. tons). (John Sonntag/NASA via AP)

Scientists say a vast iceberg has broken off from a key floating ice shelf in Antarctica. They say it weighs more than a trillion tons — and has twice the volume of water as Lake Erie.

BBC science correspondent Jonathan Amos (@BBCAmos) speaks with Here & Now's Meghna Chakrabarti about what happened, what might have caused it and what the impacts on ecosystems could be.

This BBC interview can be heard in the Here & Now podcast or with the WBUR app.