The world’s largest iceberg is moving again after almost 40 years. At 3,880 square kilometers it is more than twice the size of the city of London
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The largest iceberg in the world, which at 3,880 square kilometers is more than twice the size of the city of London, is on the move again after almost 40 years: called A-23a, it broke away from Antarctica in 1986, but then remained stranded on the iceberg Bottom of the Weddell Sea, northwest of the Antarctic continent, and turns into an ice island. The first movements were observed starting in 2020, but last year the speed increased northward and is now about to pass the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Satellite images
The news was published on the European Commission website. What finally allowed the giant iceberg to finally break away from the ocean floor and start moving again appears to have been the progressive reduction in its size. According to experts monitoring its movements, the route will be similar to the route of the other ice giants that come from the Weddell Sea: it will therefore be captured by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the ocean current that completely surrounds Antarctica and flows in an easterly direction and will make its journey in continue the South Atlantic.
Because he got back on track
“I asked a few colleagues if there was a change in water temperatures that might have caused this, but the consensus is that now is the right time,” said Dr. Andrew Fleming, remote sensing expert at the British Antarctic Survey. “It had been stationary since 1986, but sooner or later it would have shrunk (in size) to the point where it would have lost its footing and started moving. I identified the first movement in 2020.”
The A-23a iceberg is currently the largest iceberg in the world, as the previous record holder A-76, measuring over 4,300 square kilometers, broke up after detaching from Antarctica in 2021. However, the official iceberg record is the largest iceberg ever documented, belongs to B15, which broke away from the Ross Shelf in 2000: its extent reached about 11,000 square kilometers.
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