Fast-spreading crack threatens giant Antarctic ice shelf

Larsen C could shed Delaware-sized section within next few years

crack in Larsen C ice shelf

BREAK UP  Last year a crack stretching tens of kilometers rapidly spread across Larsen C, shown here in 2009, one of the largest ice shelves in Antarctica. The crack could break off a massive area of ice and threaten the ice shelf’s stability.

Michael Studinger/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Scientists have spotted the mortal wound that could prompt the collapse of Antarctica’s fourth-largest ice shelf.