The world’s largest iceberg “woke up” after 30 years and floated along Antarctica

The largest iceberg in the world, which broke away from the Filchner Glacier 37 years ago and ran aground 30 years ago, began to move and began to “actively” drift along the coast of Antarctica, report in AARI (engaged in the study of the polar regions of the Earth).

The iceberg is called A23a. Its area reaches about 4.17 thousand square meters. km, which is twice the area of ​​St. Petersburg. Currently, as noted in the AARI, the glacier is moving along the coast of Antarctica at a speed of more than 150 km per month. Scientists cannot yet predict the exact route of the iceberg.

“Now the iceberg is moving in the Weddell Sea along the coast of Antarctica. The future of this iceberg depends on many factors: the impact of currents, underwater relief protrusions, meteorological factors. But in the end, the days of the iceberg’s life are numbered, it will be brought to clean water, most likely, already in 2023,” the institute clarifies, noting that the glacier is unlikely to create problems for ships in the Arctic region.

At the end of January this year, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) informed about the appearance of another large iceberg. On January 22, a giant iceberg the size of Greater London broke off the Brant shelf in Antarctica, according to the service. Scientists do not attribute what happened to climate change and consider it rather the natural behavior of the Arctic shelf.

Alexander Kislov