NASA has released satellite images showing iceberg A-23a stuck in shallow water. It gradually breaks up, shrinking in size and giving rise to smaller icebergs.
A-23a formed back in 1986, breaking away from the Filchner Ice Shelf in West Antarctica. However, the iceberg has not traveled far from its birthplace. It hooked on the bottom in the Weddell Sea and stayed in the same spot for the next three decades.
Everything changed in November 2023, when shelf currents finally moved the giant ice block. As a result, the iceberg was carried into the open sea. At that time, it had an area of 3,900 km2 (1.5 times the size of Luxembourg), a width of 400 meters, and a mass of about a trillion tons, making it the largest iceberg in the world.
The floating of the iceberg lasted until March 2025, when it “parked” in shallow water 100 km from South Georgia Island. Since then, A-23a has not moved from its place.
Images taken by the Aqua satellite show the stranded iceberg and South Georgia Island. Although A-23a is still the world’s largest iceberg at sea, waves and other seasonal weather effects are gradually undermining its sides. Located at nearly 55° south latitude, the iceberg was well beyond the cold waters around Antarctica that helped it persist. The US National Ice Center (USNIC) estimates that between March 6 and May 3, the area of A-23A decreased by 360 km2, which is comparable to the area of Kharkiv.
The image also shows thousands of iceberg pieces dotting the ocean surface near A-23a, creating a picture reminiscent of a dark starry night. Although these fragments appear small, in reality many of them are at least a kilometer across and pose a danger to ships. One of the fragments that broke off in mid-April was large enough to receive its own A-23c designation.
According to scientists, the fate of A-23a is almost a foregone conclusion. More than 90% of icebergs around Antarctica follow a similar route to it. They enter the Weddell Gyre off East Antarctica, move northward along the Antarctic Peninsula and, crossing Drake Passage, end up in the warmer waters of the South Atlantic. All of them eventually melt.
According to Earthobservatory
