World's largest iceberg moves after 37 years

The 3,885 km wide and 400 m high iceberg is now drifting and about to leave the Weddell Sea, where it has been stranded since the 1980s.

Iceberg A23a in satellite image taken on November 15, 2023. Photo: Reuters

The A23a iceberg was part of the Filchner Ice Shelf and was home to several research stations throughout the 20th century, including the Soviet Union’s Druzhnaya 1 station. But in 1986, when the ice shelf collapsed, it broke free and drifted, forever changing Antarctica’s coastal landscape. A23a has been stuck to the bottom of the Weddell Sea ever since, but in August 2022, the part that connected it to the seabed melted and the iceberg began its current journey across the Weddell Sea, according to Andrew Fleming, a remote sensing expert at the British Antarctic Survey.

A23a lost its title as the world’s largest iceberg in May 2021, but regained it in October 2022 when the previous record holder, A76, broke into three pieces. It has now moved across the Larsen Ice Shelf and is heading into the treacherous South Atlantic. As it drifts toward South Georgia, the city-sized mass will likely follow many of its predecessors and slowly melt into the surrounding ocean.

However, A23a could pose some challenges as it moves across the Atlantic. The risk of giant icebergs moving into this iceberg corridor is that they could become trapped in shallow waters near South Georgia Island, home to penguins and seal pups. If that happens, the animals could be cut off from the sea and their food sources.

In return, scientists know that icebergs can carry minerals from the seafloor. Those minerals can be dispersed as the iceberg melts into the ocean, providing nutrients for local wildlife.

An Khang (According to Business Insider )

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