An iceberg is born in Antarctica: 24-10-2007
The birth of the first major new iceberg to be created since 2001 has been captured on satellite images in west Antarctica by a group of scientists.
Nearly half the size of Greater London, the 'baby' iceberg measures 34km in length by 20km in width.
Scientists began tracking the progress of the creation, or 'calving' of the iceberg, when it started to detach itself from the Pine Island glacier in September 2006.
Using the European Space Agency's Envisat satellite's advanced synthetic aperture radar instrument, scientists were able to follow the movements of the iceberg through to its final breakaway from the glacier this October.
Researchers began to get excited when the iceberg shifted significantly between April and May 2007, but had to wait until this month to record the eventual birth of a new iceberg.
Although calving takes place in Antarctica every year as part of the west Antarctic ice sheet's (WAIS) natural life cycle, the birth on an iceberg of this size only occurs every five to ten years.
Calving can be caused by the wind and waves, collisions between icebergs or the ice shelf growing too large to sustain its own weight.
Despite the fact that scientists have confirmed that the most recent calving is not of environmental concern, opportunities to see the great ice sheets may be limited as global warming is causing swathes of ice to melt.