Scientists have cautioned that a vast iceberg that broke off eastern Antarctic earlier this month has managed to hamper marine life in the region.

In this satellite image released by Commonwealth of Australia, a 97-kilometer (60 mile) long iceberg known as B9B, is about to crash into the Mertz Glacier Tongue, left, in the Australian Antarctic Territory on Jan. 7, 2010.

The collision is reported to have resulted in a new 78-kilometer (48 mile) long iceberg.

However, British and Australian scientists disapprove on whether it could also pose major problems to our own weather patterns.

The iceberg calved from the Mertz Glacier Tongue after it was hit by another huge iceberg, called B9B.

"It is a very active area for algae growth, especially in springtime", explained Dr Neal Young from the Australia-based Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Co-operative Research Centre.

Dr. Young has explained that the calving of the iceberg, estimated to be a mass of 700-800bn tonnes, has altered the shape of the local geography.