Mystery of the massive mile wide 'monolith' iceberg: NASA spots strange rectangular berg in Antarctica

A strange gigantic 'monolith' iceberg has been spotted by NASA scientists flying over Antarctica.

The rectangular berg was spotted off the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, near the Larsen C ice shelf.

NASA experts believe it may have recently broken off the shelf, and say the sharp angles and flat surfaces are evidence the break occured very recently, the Daily Mail reports.

The strange, angular berg is known as a tabular iceberg.

“A tabular iceberg can be seen on the right, floating among sea ice just off of the Larsen C ice shelf,” the space agency said.

“The iceberg's sharp angles and flat surface indicate that it probably recently calved from the ice shelf.”

The image was taken during an IceBridge flight—an airborne survey of the planet's polar ice that gives a 3D view of the ice that makes up the Arctic and Antarctic, providing vital information on how it changes over time. 

In an interview with LiveScience, NASA scientist Kelly Brunt said 'tabular icebergs are rather like fingernails that crack of, giving them sharp edges.

'What makes this one a bit unusual is that it looks almost like a square,' she said.

She estimated its size to be about a mile wide.

Scientists have been closely tracking Larsen C since a  massive iceberg broke free, and began to spin.