Twice the size of Sao Paulo: After 30 years, the world's largest iceberg is moving into Antarctica

Antarctica is a huge icy continent that appears completely dormant, but is in motion – which is sometimes worrying. Blocks of ice larger than major cities break off and sail aimlessly across the planet’s south.

This is the case of A23a, a massive iceberg that has been stuck on the ocean floor for three decades and has only recently begun to move.

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The video of the massive ice mass was proudly released by researchers from the British Antarctic Survey, which runs British bases in Antarctica.

A23a is nicknamed the “Giant Mountain” due to its enormous size – at 3,990 square kilometres, it is about two and a half times larger than the city of São Paulo.

Its first movement was in 1986, when it broke off the Filchner Ice Shelf.

But the iceberg has remained relatively stable since then, until it broke off at the end of November. In the coming months, it will follow what researchers call an “iceberg route” into the Southern Ocean. This is an event considered normal until now.

Dr Andrew Myers, scientific lead of the UK Polar Expeditions, said: “It is incredible to see this huge iceberg in person, it extends as far as the eye can see.” Since this is a unique and relatively rare event to be recorded, scientists will be closely monitoring the entire path of A23a.

In addition to photography, the researchers collected ice samples to try to record records of accelerating climate change.

Penguins and glaciers are suffering from climate change in Antarctica

The Antarctic marine ecosystem is one of the most biodiverse on the planet and one of the most threatened. Rising sea levels threaten animal species, such as the Adelie penguin that lives in the area

Antarctica is one of the fastest warming places on the planet. In the past 50 years, the temperature has risen by about 3 degreesRead also: A crack in Antarctica will release an iceberg twice the size of New York

Researchers from around the world say the impact of global warming on Antarctica is one of the most dramatic and requires radical changes.
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The pace of annual loss of ice mass has accelerated, and, according to a study conducted by the University of California, it has increased six-fold compared to what it was 40 years ago.Read also: Research blames YouTube for spreading flat Earth theories

One phenomenon associated with a worrying increase in marine temperatures is the retreat of glaciers and the displacement of speciesRead also: More than 100,000 sharks invade the beaches of Florida, USA

According to NASA data, the past five years have been the hottest global levels in history since 1880.Read also: Pompeii: the city that was petrified by a volcano in Italy