After floating for nearly 40 years, the A23a iceberg in Antarctica has now begun to break apart due to the influence of warm waters. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
According to The Guardian, this iceberg may completely disappear in the coming weeks. Initially called a "mega iceberg," this ice mass weighed nearly one trillion tons.
Currently, it has lost more than half of its area, shrinking to 1770 square kilometers. Images from the European Union's Copernicus space monitoring program have revealed that the iceberg's surface spans nearly 60 kilometers in width.
In recent weeks, large pieces totaling 400 square kilometers have broken off from the iceberg. According to Andrew Meijers, an oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey, the iceberg is rapidly disintegrating as it moves northward, and this process is being observed daily.
The A23a first separated from the Antarctic ice sheet in 1986 but remained grounded on the seabed of the Weddell Sea for nearly 30 years. It only began drifting under the influence of strong ocean currents after 2020, passing through the "iceberg corridor" in the South Atlantic.
At the beginning of 2025, the iceberg stopped near South Georgia Island, posing a threat to colonies of penguins and seals. Later, in May, it resumed movement, covering nearly 20 kilometers in one day as it headed north.
Scientists believe that the iceberg's disintegration is linked to warm waters and strong waves. At the same time, the rapid melting of icebergs is closely connected to human activity and global climate change, which negatively impacts the Antarctic ecosystem.
The fact that the A23a iceberg remained intact for such a long time is considered a remarkable natural phenomenon.
