Watch a Las Vegas-Sized Iceberg Break Off Antarctica

The iceberg split into smaller ones, which the ESA is calling "piglets."

SOME PIG!

Since 2017, an iceberg the size of Las Vegas has been slowly cracking and breaking off the massive Pine Island Glacier, on the coast of Antarctica.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has kept satellite cameras trained on the iceberg — dubbed PIG — since then, Inverse reports, and now the space agency released a time-lapse video of the ongoing split. It's a disturbing video, especially when considering how rapidly the glacier fractured compared to past splits.

 

Gen P

In the video, PIG is seen splitting into even smaller icebergs as it floats away from the rest of the glacier. The ESA is referring to those mini-icebergs as piglets, according to Inverse.

Scientists used to spot cracks like that of PIG splitting off every four to six years, Inverse reports. But now, thanks to worsening climate change, similar fractures are appearing almost every year.

Rising Tide

Most dire is what will happen if PIG continues to melt as the planet heats up. Together with its twin iceberg Thwaites, Inverse reports that PIG contains enough ice to raise global sea levels by four feet, a change that would lead to catastrophe.

READ MORE: TIME-LAPSE VIDEO CAPTURES MASSIVE ICEBERG BREAKING OFF GLACIER IN ANTARCTICA [Inverse]

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