The world’s biggest iceberg is swimming away

The world's largest iceberg, surpassing the size of London, is finally on the move after spending decades grounded on the seafloor in Antarctica. Originally breaking away from the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in 1986, the massive ice mass, named A23a, had remained grounded on the floor of the Antarctic's Weddell Sea.

According to CNN, with a thickness of approximately 400 meters (1,312 feet) and an area spanning almost 4,000 square kilometers (1,544 square miles), A23a has now likely diminished enough in size to release its hold on the seafloor as part of the natural growth cycle of the ice shelf, according to scientists Ella Gilbert and Oliver Marsh from the British Antarctic Survey. For comparison, Greater London encompasses 1,572 square kilometers (607 square miles).

Although A23a has intermittently yielded its "largest current iceberg" title to larger but shorter-lived icebergs like A68 in 2017 and A76 in 2021, it has consistently held prominence since the 1980s. Carried by ocean currents, the iceberg is expected to travel eastward at a rate of five kilometers (three miles) per day.

While the detachment of A23a is likely a result of the natural ice shelf growth cycle, the scientists emphasized that climate change is playing a significant role in transforming Antarctica's ice, leading to substantial annual ice loss on the continent.