The largest iceberg in the world, called A-76, has just broken off of Antarctica. Its surface area spans 1,668 square miles. For reference, that’s larger than the U.S. state of Rhode Island and 70 times bigger than Manhattan Island.

Surprisingly, scientists have not linked A-76 to climate change—yet—and attribute it to a natural seasonal cycle of ice breakage. Even so, ice shelves help slow the flow of glaciers and ice streams into the sea, so the loss will eventually contribute to rising sea levels. Scientists have grown increasingly worrisome about the changes across the Antarctic region—and if there’s one thing our planet doesn’t need more of, it's melting ice.

Photo: Live Science