The world’s largest iceberg: leave the roof

The iceberg nicknamed A23a, which had been literally attached to the seafloor in the Weddel Sea for 30 years, has now broken free and set its course northward with an uncertain fate.

The arduous journey has been discussed by many international media outlets, including… BBC.

giant

“Island” is probably a better term for the iceberg, which has a total size of at least 4,000 square kilometres.

This roughly corresponds to nine times the area of ​​Oslo or one and a half times the size of all of Luxembourg.

A23a broke off from the coast of Antarctica in 1986, and has since settled in the Weddell Sea, until beginning its struggle for liberation in 2020.

However, only this year scientists were finally able to determine that the 400-metre-thick ice island had left it completely.

– it’s time

Admittedly, scientists have been unable to pinpoint why the iceberg – or island – has only begun to move now – after a long-term residence of more than 30 years in the middle of the sea.

“I discussed this with a couple of colleagues, and wondered whether temperature changes in the shelf waters were the cause, but there was widespread agreement that it was just time,” Andrew Fleming, a remote sensing expert from the British Antarctic Survey, told BBC. BC.

The wind has taken the mountain, and is expected to follow the Southern Ocean Current, which in turn will carry the island towards the South Atlantic Ocean.

The mountain is currently located near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.

– Giver of life

The glacier is expected to melt completely eventually. During the melting process, icebergs release mineral dust. This should be important to many organisms.

– In many areas, icebergs are life-giving. It’s the starting point for a huge amount of biological activity, Katherine Walker of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution tells the same newspaper.