World's Second-Largest Iceberg Rapidly Breaking Up
The A23a iceberg, previously weighing nearly a trillion metric tonnes, is now disintegrating into several large chunks.
LONDON — The world’s largest iceberg is "rapidly breaking up" into several large 'very large' chunks according to scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
Previously weighing nearly a trillion metric tonnes and spanning an area of 3,672 square kilometers, the A23a iceberg has been closely tracked by scientists ever since it calved from the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in Antarctica in 1986.
The megaberg is now shrunk to about 1,700 square kilometers, roughly the size of Greater London.
Scientists say A23a is following a similar fate to other large icebergs that have disintegrated around South Georgia, though it has stayed intact for longer.
The title for the world’s largest iceberg has now passed to D15a, which measures around 3,000 square kilometers and remains fairly static near the Australian Davis base.
Scientists onboard BAS polar research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough visited A23a when it was grounded on the South Georgia shelf.
Samples taken have recently returned to the UK for analysis.
The grounding and release of cold freshwater are likely to have had a major impact on organisms in the surrounding water.
It is important to understand these impacts as large icebergs may become a more common feature at South Georgia due to global warming.
Previously weighing nearly a trillion metric tonnes and spanning an area of 3,672 square kilometers, the A23a iceberg has been closely tracked by scientists ever since it calved from the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in Antarctica in 1986.
The megaberg is now shrunk to about 1,700 square kilometers, roughly the size of Greater London.
Scientists say A23a is following a similar fate to other large icebergs that have disintegrated around South Georgia, though it has stayed intact for longer.
The title for the world’s largest iceberg has now passed to D15a, which measures around 3,000 square kilometers and remains fairly static near the Australian Davis base.
Scientists onboard BAS polar research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough visited A23a when it was grounded on the South Georgia shelf.
Samples taken have recently returned to the UK for analysis.
The grounding and release of cold freshwater are likely to have had a major impact on organisms in the surrounding water.
It is important to understand these impacts as large icebergs may become a more common feature at South Georgia due to global warming.
