--- title: Antarctica Photos: Ice Shelf Collapse Could Happen in Decade description: A crack in an Antarctic ice shelf has grown by 13 miles in the past six months, threatening to detach an area of ice larger than Delaware canonical: https://time.com/4483880/antarctica-global-warming-ice-melt/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-12T14:17:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T00:28:22.262Z article:section: Science og:title: See the Giant Crack That Could Collapse Part of an Antarctic Ice Shelf og:description: A large crack in an Antarctic ice shelf has grown by 13 miles in the past six months og:url: https://time.com/4483880/antarctica-global-warming-ice-melt/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt985b74f9cd3cf132/6988a53f0b72e34cbe6eaec2/antarctic-ice-shelf-crack.jpg?branch=production&width=1000&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1000 og:image:height: 563 og:image:alt: IDL TIFF file og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See the Giant Crack That Could Collapse Part of an Antarctic Ice Shelf twitter:description: A large crack in an Antarctic ice shelf has grown by 13 miles in the past six months twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt985b74f9cd3cf132/6988a53f0b72e34cbe6eaec2/antarctic-ice-shelf-crack.jpg?branch=production&width=1000&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See the Giant Crack That Could Collapse Part of an Antarctic Ice Shelf > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 12, 2016 2:17 PM UTC  The rift is visible on the left in these images taken by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) on NASA’s Terra satellite on Aug. 22, 2016, The ice shelf comprises the left half of the image, and thinner sea ice appears on the right. The rift is visible on the left in these images taken by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) on NASA’s Terra satellite on Aug. 22, 2016, The ice shelf comprises the left half of the image, and thinner sea ice appears on the right.Jesse Allen—NASA Earth Observatory images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 12, 2016 2:17 PM UTC A large crack in an Antarctic ice shelf has grown by 13 miles in the past six months, threatening to detach an area of ice larger than Delaware. [Images](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=88708&src=eorss-iotd) of the Larsen C shelf captured by NASA’s Terra satellite show a fault line that now stretches 80 miles in length, according to a report from the U.S. space agency. A portion of the ice shelf—the continent’s fourth largest—could disconnect Scientists are working to understand the immediate changes that created the giant crack—and have led it to grow so quickly. [Project MIDAS](http://www.projectmidas.org/about/), a U.K. group dedicated to studying the Larsen C shelf, notes that a warming climate has changed the structure of the ice, threatening the possibility of collapse. The [Larsen B ice shelf](http://time.com/3872724/antarctica-ice-shelf-melting-ocean-rise/) partially collapsed in 2002 and has furthered weakened in recent years. 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