The Washington Post Gets Iceberg Story Right

The Washington Post (WaPo) published a story that explains how a 600 square mile chunk of iceberg has broken off from Antarctica, and that scientists do not believe it is due to climate change.

This is factually true, and WaPo should be praised for publishing a scientifically-sound article on spectacular natural phenomena without attempts trying to tie it to climate change.

WaPo writer and meteorologist Dan Stillman covered the recent drama of a large segment of iceberg breaking off from Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf, in a post titled “Giant iceberg breaks off from Antarctica. Aerial view is ‘spectacular.” Stillman reports that the calving occurred “during a particularly high tide known as a spring tide,” and has been expected by Antarctic researchers for years now after a large crack formed and expanded.

The article goes into detail about the theory and mechanics of the ice shelf and the natural growth of the chasm that eventually caused a split—in part due to the growth of the ice shelf itself.

Stillman wrote, “Unlike some previous icebergs and collapsed ice shelves that have been linked to climate change, the BAS press release said the break is a “natural process” and there is “no evidence that climate change has played a significant role.”

This is the only time in the article that Stillman attempts to attribute Antarctic ice calving in general to climate change. To Stillman’s credit, it is far more reasonable compared to the blind hysteria surrounding an earlier ice calving in spring 2022, in which a smaller section of an eastern Antarctic ice shelf broke up, and media headlines falsely claimed that it was the “first time in human history” that such an ice shelf collapsed. When those stories ran, Climate Realism pointed out, here, that this was only the first time a satellite observed an ice shelf collapse in east Antarctica.

There is very little to be worried about when it comes to Antarctic ice melt. Collected data from Climate at a Glance: Antarctic Sea Ice Melt shows that recent ice loss in Antarctica is barely a drop in the bucket compared to the total volume of ice on the continent, nor are losses causing any significant or alarming acceleration in sea level rise.

The figure below illustrates how a seemingly impressive amount of ice loss barely makes a dent, compared to all of the ice existing on the Antarctic continent.

Later in the article, the WaPo journalist quoted senior researcher at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Ted Scambos, reiterating that this calving event is “just a part of how Antarctica’s ice sheet works,” and that it usually has “nothing to do” with any climate change related forcings.

Praise is in order for the scientists and journalists like Dan Stillman who refrained from attempting to rope this natural event into the climate alarm narrative, which all too often overshadows good science.