Breaking of a colossal iceberg, larger than São Paulo, warns the scientific community

The scientists who make up the Research team Antarctica The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has just released the first aerial images captured of the gigantic iceberg A81, which recently broke off the Brunt Ice Shelf.

With a total area of ​​over 1,550 square kilometers, the ice block is larger than the city of São Paulo. In addition to A81, experts are closely monitoring the movement of iceberg A76a, which is even larger.

Icebergs A76a and A81 are currently hundreds of kilometers from their original locations, a fact that has caused great concern to the international scientific community.

It turns out that the displacement of these blocks of ice can pose risks to the life of animal species that inhabit the southern region of the planet, in addition to affecting the navigation of ships in the area.

Photo: BBC.

Among the effects that cause concern, scientists explain that, as icebergs melt, they release water freshwater in the ocean, which contributes to rising sea levels, but also to changing the local chemical composition.

Disturbances caused in salt levels, for example, can affect aquatic organisms and generate an imbalance in the ocean ecosystem, thus affecting marine fauna and flora.

In an opposite analysis, it is observed that melting causes the release of minerals trapped in the ice, which facilitates the proliferation of phytoplankton, microorganisms that live "floating" in the water and are capable of carrying out the photosynthesis.

Although the melting of icebergs is considered a situation that brings positive consequences and negative for biodiversity, the displacement of these blocks of ice is an additional and worrying problem by itself.

That's because the icebergs head towards the Sandwich Islands and South Georgia, and, when they arrive in shallower waters, there is a risk of running aground on the ocean floor, causing damage to the habitats present in that area, such as corals and estuaries.

Recently, in 2021, another iceberg, the A68a, also arrived in the Sandwich Islands and South Georgia region, causing a considerable environmental impact.

At the time, the block of ice broke into several pieces, which later melted, releasing about than 152 million tons of fresh water in the sea, according to scientists who followed the movement of the object.