An iceberg the size of London has been captured breaking away from Antarctica in a terrifying video released online.
Satellite images have shown before and after images where the huge iceberg can be seen separating away from the continent.
On Sunday the Brunt Ice Shelf drifted away from the west side of the continent after years of cracking due to the swelling of the oceans that happens as a result of full and new moons.
According to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) it is the “second major calving” in the area to happen in the past two years.
An iceberg the size of London has been captured breaking away from Antarctica in a terrifying video released online.
Copernicus/NERC/Simon Proud
The calving is not a result of climate change.
Copernicus/NERC/Simon Proud
Calving is when ice breaks away from a glacier.
Professor Dam Jane Francis from the BAS said: “Our glaciologists and operations teams have been anticipating this event. Measurements of the ice shelf are carried out multiple times a day using an automated network of high-precision GPS instruments that surround the station.
“These measure how the ice shelf is deforming and moving, and are compared to satellite images from ESA, NASA and the German satellite TerraSAR-X.”
Glasciologist Professor Dominic Hodgson explained that the calving was not a result of climate change and has been expected by scientists for a decade.
He continued: “Our science and operational teams continue to monitor the ice shelf in real-time to ensure it is safe, and to maintain the delivery of the science we undertake at Halley”.
They believe the moon’s gravitational pull on the tide is the cause of the event.
The Brunt Ice Shelf is 500ft in thickness and is expected to move at 1.2miles a year.
