US EditionOnce king of the seas, a giant iceberg is finally breaking up
A23a, once nearly a trillion tons and twice the size of Greater London, is breaking up rapidly due to warmer waters, shrinking to less than half its original size, scientists say.
- The iceberg known as A23a is breaking apart in warmer waters and could disappear within weeks, nearly 40 years after it calved from Antarctica and was one of the largest recorded icebergs.
- A23a initially weighed under a trillion tonnes and is now less than half its original size, with substantial chunks breaking off, including some 400 square kilometers each.
- According to Andrew Meijers, a physical oceanographer from the British Antarctic Survey, A23a is 'breaking up fairly dramatically' due to warm water, suggesting it won't be identifiable soon.
- Scientists were 'surprised' by how long A23a had lasted, as most icebergs do not survive such conditions, and it is now expected to disappear completely soon.
40 Articles
40 Articles
By Lianne Kolirin and Issy Ronald, CNN The world's largest iceberg is “rapidly fractured” in several “very large pieces,” scientists from the British Antarctic Research Service (BAS) said. With an earlier weight of nearly a trillion metric tons (1.1 trillion tons) and an area of 3,672 square kilometers (1.418 square miles), slightly larger than Rhode Island, the A23a iceberg has been closely watched by scientists since it was detached from the F…
By Lianne Kolirin and Issy Ronald, CNN The world's largest iceberg is “rapidly fractured” in several “very large pieces,” scientists from the British Antarctic Research Service (BAS) said. With an earlier weight of nearly a trillion metric tons (1.1 trillion tons) and an area of 3,672 square kilometers (1.418 square miles), slightly larger than Rhode Island, the A23a iceberg has been closely watched by scientists since it was detached from the F…
Several pieces of Iceberg A23a have spread across the ocean, now with less than half the original size. Specialists hope that within a short time, block "is no longer identifiable".
Almost 40 years ago, A23a breaks off from Antarctica - and is stuck for the next nearly three and a half decades. Since then, the world's largest iceberg has been comparatively mobile.
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