US EditionMassive Iceberg Turns Blue, Is 'Days or Weeks' From Disintegrating, NASA Says
Iceberg A-23A, once nearly twice the size of Rhode Island, has shrunk to 1,182 square kilometers and is rapidly breaking apart due to meltwater and warmer ocean conditions.
- NASA reported on Thursday that Iceberg A-23A is 'days or weeks' from disintegrating, with December 26, 2025 MODIS and December 27 ISS photos showing extensive blue melt pools.
- A Dec. 26 satellite image suggests the berg has sprung a leak as pooled water stressed its ice, while blowouts and austral summer warmth pushed cracks open, creating freshwater discharge plumes.
- After grounding for decades, Iceberg A-23A broke free in 2020 and is now estimated at 1,182 square kilometers, following over 30 years grounded by the Filchner Ice Shelf.
- Scientists tracking the berg say blowouts spilled meltwater forming a freshwater discharge plume, and they call its imminent demise bittersweet while praising satellite and ISS imagery.
- Even as A-23A fades, Shuman notes other megabergs over 1,500 square kilometers remain along the Antarctic shoreline, and `I certainly don't expect A-23A to last through the austral summer,' he added.
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Image: Meltwater turns iceberg A-23A blue
The year that iceberg A-23A first broke away from Antarctica's Filchner Ice Shelf, Ronald Reagan was president of the United States, and the movie "Top Gun" was setting box office records. Forty years later, the massive tabular berg—one of the largest and longest-lived bergs ever tracked by scientists—is sopping with blue meltwater and on the verge of complete disintegration as it drifts in the South Atlantic between the eastern tip of South Ame…
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Massive iceberg turns blue, is 'days or weeks' from disintegrating, NASA says
Iceberg A-23A broke from Antarctica in 1986 and is one of the largest icebergs ever tracked by scientists.
Iceberg A-23A Turns Deep Blue in Final Days, Marking End of a Forty-Year Giant
A massive chunk of ice from Antarctica’s Filchner Ice Shelf broke off 40 years ago, in 1986. This gigantic iceberg was given the name A-23A, and as it entered the globe, it made history in a big way, as the ice covered 4,000 square kilometers, nearly twice the size of Rhode Island. Scientists have been [...]
Meltwater Turns Iceberg A-23A Blue - NASA Science
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