Scientists are unsure what this could mean for the future health and stability of the Brunt Ice Shelf.
![Previously stable for about 35 years, a crack in Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf recently started accelerating northward as fast as 4 kilometers per year.](https://media1.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2019_09/2766196/190226-antarctica-mn-1420_ba6fccbbabf1c565c002b0620c8c4697.fit-760w.jpg)
Previously stable for about 35 years, a crack in Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf recently started accelerating northward as fast as 4 kilometers per year.NASA
The space agency released satellite photos of Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf, where a rift can be seen cutting across the shelf. NASA scientists said the crack had been stable for about 35 years, but has since been creeping north at a pace of about 2.5 miles per year.
This rift is accelerating toward another fissure — known as the Halloween crack — that is located less than 3 miles away.
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