An iceberg around the same size as Singapore has broken off the Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica, and is floating out into the ocean.

An iceberg around the same size as Singapore has broken off the Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica, and is floating out into the ocean.

Researchers have been observing the iceberg using satellite surveillance while waiting for it to move out to sea after it separated from the glacier around six months ago.

It took more than two years for the iceberg to calve since the NASA IceBridge research team first noticed an enormous crack in the surface back in October of 2011.

Grant Bigg, an ocean modeler at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom said: “Each of the last three years has seen a giant iceberg calve, from either Greenland or Antarctica. Being able to track and forecast the tracks of these huge blocks of ice will be a major benefit to the shipping industry, particularly as more ships begin to use polar waters, as Arctic sea ice melts.”

Bigg and his team of scientists will be predicting the movement of the giant iceberg using what they know about ocean currents and prevailing winds to ensure that international shipping routes are safe from the floating frozen obstacle.