Scientists are monitoring the birth of a monster iceberg in West Antarctica.
A rift has formed in the shelf of floating ice in front of the Pine Island Glacier (PIG).
The surface crack in the PIG runs for almost 30km (20 miles), is 60m (200ft) deep and is growing every day.
US space agency (Nasa) researchers expect the eventual berg to cover about 880 sq km - an area the size of Berlin. It should break away towards the end of the year or early in 2012.
Pine Island Glacier is one of the largest and fastest-moving tongues of ice on the White Continent and drains something like 10% of all the ice flowing out of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet into the ocean.
In recent years, satellite and airborne measurements have recorded a marked thinning of the PIG, which may be related to climate changes.
But the team working on Nasa's IceBridge project say this latest birthing of a giant berg is part of a natural cycle seen every 10 years or so on the glacier.
"The last big calving event occurred in 2001 so in general people have been expecting something like this to happen fairly soon, and for us it is very exciting to see this while it is happening," said IceBridge project scientist Dr Michael Studinger.
An iceberg of the size expected will need to be monitored carefully, and not just because it could eventually become a hazard to shipping.
The biggest bergs can have a major impact on their surroundings.
By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News
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