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The world’s largest iceberg, A23a, has reportedly run aground off the coast of South Georgia, a British Overseas Territory in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, after drifting through the Southern Ocean near Antarctica since 2020. Weighing approximately 1.1 trillion tons, A23a measures 3,672 square kilometers, making it nearly the size of Rhode Island and over twice the size of London. The iceberg initially calved from the Filchner Ice Shelf in Antarctica in 1986, spent over 30 years resting on the Weddell Sea seabed, and began drifting in 2020.
In late 2024, A23a became temporarily trapped around an undersea mountain, delaying its movement, but eventually broke free. Fears that it would damage local ecosystems by blocking access to feeding grounds for wildlife on South Georgia, have eased, as it is now grounded around 90 kilometers from shore. If it remains grounded, scientists do not expect it to significantly impact wildlife. In fact, the nutrients released by the iceberg’s melting may actually boost the local food supply, benefiting penguins and seals.
However, while A23a is still intact, large icebergs like it typically break up and melt quickly once they drift into warmer waters. Once it eventually breaks apart, the smaller fragments could pose a threat to shipping and fishing operations due to their difficulty in detection. Despite A23a’s large size, past incidents with icebergs have shown that smaller ice chunks can be more hazardous to vessels.
Although the detachment of A23a from the ice shelf is likely part of a natural process, scientists remain concerned about the effects of climate change on Antarctica, which could lead to significant sea level rise in the future.
*With information from CNN
