The world’s largest iceberg is heading north
Published: Tuesday, Dec 17th 2024, 11:40
Updated At: Tuesday, Dec 17th 2024, 10:41
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What is probably the largest iceberg in the world is on its way north decades after breaking off from the Antarctic ice shelf. This was announced by the British Antarctic Survey polar research institute.
A23a detached from the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in the Antarctic in 1986, but remained stuck to the sea floor for years. After breaking free in 2000, it remained trapped in circulating ocean currents. It takes the iceberg a good 24 days to complete one round. Now it has escaped, as can be seen on satellite images.
The iceberg is around 4000 square kilometers in size, roughly twice the size of the canton of St. Gallen. In the meantime, waves and weathering have carved huge arches and cave-like depressions into the colossus, as images from a ship belonging to the company Eyos Expeditions show.
Warmer water melts ice
A23a is expected to move towards the island of South Georgia. There it will encounter warmer water, break into smaller icebergs and ultimately melt, according to the press release.
"We are curious to see whether it will follow the same path as other large icebergs that have broken off the Antarctic ice shelf. And more importantly, what impact will this have on the local ecosystem?" oceanographer Andrew Meijers was quoted as saying.
©Keystone/SDA
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