The world's largest iceberg is on its way to South Georgia

For more than 30 years, the world's largest iceberg has been firmly anchored to the sea floor. It took gradual melting until 2020 for the rock to disintegrate and float freely. BBC writes.

The iceberg, known as A23a, began moving north toward warmth with the help of currents and winds. Today, the giant is sliding about 700 kilometers northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.

It is the interaction between winds, offshore fronts and eddies that will determine where A23a moves in the coming weeks. The BBC wrote that several small mountains that broke off from the A23a are expected to pass through South Georgia, about 650 kilometers northeast of their current location.

Twice the size of London

The area of ​​the glacier is about 3,800 square kilometers, which is larger than the area of ​​29 countries, such as Luxembourg, which has an area of ​​2,590 square kilometers. The mountain is also twice the size of London.

When scientists estimated the circumference of the glacier, they found that the average thickness of the mountain was just over 280 metres. For comparison, the height of the Eiffel Tower is 330 metres.

Every day, large pieces fall into the sea. It will crumble and dissolve into nothing in just a few months, the BBC reports.

Already separated in November

The iceberg has been stuck since 1986, but the fact that it has begun to move is nothing strange.

– Sooner or later, even these huge mountains will always disintegrate. It breaks down slowly, but it is a huge iceberg, so it takes a long time, Ola Kalin, an oceanographer at SMHI, tells TT.

He says it is likely that the effect of heat from ocean currents is causing the iceberg to erode from below and from the side, causing it to break off. The glacier actually broke off in November 2023. The iceberg had previously moved in circles but is now moving north at a higher speed.