The world’s largest iceberg is on the move in the Southern Ocean after spinning for months.
Iceberg A23a weighs nearly 1 trillion tons and is twice the size of Greater London, according to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
A23a calved from the Antarctica‘s Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986. The colossal iceberg remained attached to the seabed until 2020 when it started moving north in the Wedell Sea toward warmer waters, BAS said.
The iceberg has been spinning in a Taylor Column, since April, according to Nasa. A Taylor Column is rotating waters that form above underwater mountains and trap objects in place, according to BAS.
Video from October shows A23a spinning in a clockwise motion while trapped in the Taylor Column.
A video from the BAS shows the iceberg’s progression as it breaks away from the Taylor Column.
The iceberg is now headed north again.
BAS said A23a is expected to head toward the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, where it will begin melting in warmer waters and break into smaller icebergs.
Researchers are monitoring the impact the iceberg’s change in position will have on local ecosystems, BAS said.
“It’s exciting to see A23a on the move again after periods of being stuck. We are interested to see if it will take the same route the other large icebergs that have calved off Antarctica have taken,” said Dr Andrew Meijers, an oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey.
