First footage of giant London-sized iceberg reveals its breathtaking scale
Researchers have revealed the first aerial footage of the massive iceberg that broke free from an Antarctic ice shelf in January.
Designated A81, the Greater-London-sized chunk of ice had finally calved from Antarctica’s Brunt Ice shelf a decade after the first cracks appeared, joining other glacier fragments floating in the Weddell Sea. This is the second giant split recorded in two years, and while calving is a natural process in this frozen landscape, it can still wreak havoc on its surroundings, according to Science Alert.
“An iceberg of this size will have a big impact on the ocean ecosystems which support the rich diversity of marine wildlife found in this Antarctic region,” explains ecologist Geraint Tarling. “These impacts may be both positive and negative.”
The dynamic aerial footage, recorded by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), shows just how massive this ice block is, looking like an endless sheet even from high in the air. But what we can see is still only a fraction of the iceberg’s mass, with most of their bulk extending hundreds of meters into the depths.
BAS relocated an entire research station to avoid being cast adrift on the now floating piece of ice sheet. The Halley Research Station was moved 23 kilometers in 2016 after high precision GPS instruments and satellite data revealed the Chasm along the Brunt Ice shelf was widening.