News reports of the largest iceberg in the world (more than 2000 square miles) have appeared on all major media outlets this week. The iceberg broke off in 2017 and continued melt, while drifting toward the island of South Georgia, and eventually Argentina.
The massive iceberg added 167 million tons of freshwater into the Southern Ocean. Besides its contribution to sea-level rise, the size and location of the event are concerning. Antarctica has not warmed as fast as the Arctic circle, due to climate change. Scientists hoped that would remain the case, as policymakers attempt to meet reductions in greenhouse gas emissions necessary. Unfortunately, even the most ambitious climate policy targets will not prevent sea-level from rising to levels that will threaten or make life impossible in low-lying coastal zones.
In addition, most climate models do not take into account the complex interaction of factors that strengthen each other, as the planet warms. A good example is how melting ice sheets also weaken ocean currents, such as the Gulf Stream, now at its weakest in more than a millennium.