The world’s biggest iceberg has packed its bags and is heading out on its own after being grounded on the seafloor in Antarctica for decades.
The iceberg initially broke away from the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in 1986, but calved and became grounded in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea floor almost immediately.
Named A23a, the iceberg is nearly 1,312 miles thick and about 1,544 square miles in area. In comparison, the iceberg is more than double the size of London, which has an area of 607 square miles.
Scientists Ella Gilbert and Oliver Marsh from the British Antarctic Survey spoke with CNN about A23a, sharing that after nearly three decades of staying put, the iceberg has probably shrunk, resulting in its losing its grip on the seafloor.
Despite being surpassed a few times since the 1980s, A23a has consistently been the “largest current iceberg.”
Ocean currents are currently bringing the iceberg eastward, traveling at a speed of about three miles a day.