What is believed to be the world’s largest iceberg is heading north decades after breaking off the Antarctic ice shelf.
A23a broke away from the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica in 1986, but remained attached to the seabed for decades. After it broke free in 2000, it remained trapped in circulating ocean currents. But now it has escaped, as satellite images show2, according to the polar research institute British Antarctic Survey.
Ten times bigger than Vienna
The iceberg is about 4,000 square kilometers in size, about ten times the size of Vienna. Meanwhile, waves and weather have carved enormous arches and cavernous depressions into the colossus, as evidenced by images from an Eyos Expeditions ship.
A23a is expected to move towards the island of South Georgia. There it will encounter warmer water, break up into smaller icebergs and eventually melt, the statement said. “We are curious to see if it will follow the same path as other large icebergs that have broken off from the Antarctic ice shelf. And more importantly: what impact will this have on the local ecosystem?” says oceanographer Andrew Meijers.
Source: Krone
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