Overview
- A tabular iceberg of about 76 square kilometers and up to 150 meters thick detached from the Petermann Glacier in northwest Greenland, with satellite imagery showing the calving on 3–4 August 2026.
- European Sentinel‑1 radar and interferometry allowed scientists to observe rapid rift propagation in near real time and to confirm the timing and shape of the breakup.
- Teams funded by the ARCTEX project and partners characterize the detached mass as a flat, long‑lived 'ice island' that could persist and fragment over months to years, complicating tracking.
- Researchers warn two adjacent, much larger floating sections—estimated at roughly 97 km² and 87 km²—remain separated by growing rifts and could calve if those cracks propagate.
- Environment and Climate Change Canada and research groups are monitoring the berg’s drift and assessing risks to shipping and coastal infrastructure as scientists study the event in the context of decades of Greenland shelf‑ice thinning.