Keywords: Iceberg Melting, Climate Change Impact, Global Warming, Arctic
Nearly four decades after breaking off from Antarctica, A23a — one of the largest and oldest icebergs ever recorded — is crumbling into the ocean and could vanish within weeks.
Once weighing close to a trillion tonnes and spanning more than twice the size of Greater London, the “megaberg” drifted for years through the Weddell Sea before escaping in 2020. It even briefly threatened penguin feeding grounds in the South Atlantic.
Now reduced to 1,770 sq km at its widest point, A23a is shedding enormous chunks — some 400 sq km each — as it drifts into warmer waters. Smaller fragments, still large enough to endanger ships, litter the surrounding seas.
“It’s basically rotting underneath. The water is too warm for it to survive,” said Andrew Meijers of the British Antarctic Survey. “I expect it won’t be identifiable within weeks.”
For 30 years, A23a sat grounded on the seabed, a frozen relic. Today, carried along “iceberg alley” by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, it is disintegrating fast — a stark symbol of how even Earth’s mightiest ice cannot withstand a warming world. Read More
News Credit: The Guardian
Picture Credit: Rob Suisted/http:/naturespic.com/Reuters