The world’s largest iceberg was about to turn 40. I was already lasting too much for experts

Almost four decades after detaching themselves from Antarctica, the iceberg colossal known as A23aa Giant of one billion tonshe is fighting his final battle against the ocean. After an epic trip and decades stranded at the bottom of the sea, whatever The world’s largest iceberg They are breaking into pieces, and scientists predict that it could disappear completely in the coming weeks.

The history of Iceberg. The A23A detached from the Philchner-Ronne Ice Platform of Antarctica in 1986 and was embedded at the bottom of the Weddell Sea for more than 30 years. A great formation that undoubtedly matters by overcoming the surface of the Community of Madrid twice or doubling the London Metropolitan Area.

But it was not until 2020 when his epic trip beganbeing dragged by the ‘Icerbergs Highway’ to the South Atlantic. And although it was stranded for a while, He started his journey again in 2024.

A threatening size. After its journey, earlier this year its immense size came to threaten the food areas of the penguins on a remote island of the South Atlantic, but the iceberg continued on its way. Now, according to an analysis of the Agite France-Presse and taking as a source the images of the satellite of the European Copernicus programthe A23a It has less than half of its original sizealthough it remains a large mass of 1,770 square kilometers.

A dramatic disintegration. In recent weeks, huge pieces of ice, some of up to 400 square kilometers, have detached themselves from A23a. In addition, the sea around it is full of smaller fragments, many of which are large enough to suppose a risk for navigation.

Andrew Meijers, physical oceographic of the British Antartic Survey (BAS)has told AFP that the iceberg is “disintegrating quite dramatic” as it moves north. “I would say that it is in the process of disappearance … Basically it is rotting below. Water is too warm for it to be maintained. It is constantly melting,” says Meijers. The scientist expects the A23a not to be “identifiable in a few weeks.”

It has gone too far. The route that this iceberg has had, the truth is that it has surprised the scientific community. “Most icebergs do not get so far. This is very large, so it has lasted more and has come further than others,” adds Meijers.

Climate change as a backdrop. Although Icebergs detachment is a natural process That we have documented, scientists affirm that the rhythm they are being lost is a problem. And behind this acceleration in the detachment is man and climate change.

This is something that we have already seen as a serious problem in the ‘alley of the icerbergs’ where there are a greater number of these formations, further altering ecosystems in its path.

Other icebergs have had the same fate. In the pastother specimens, such as A-68awith an extension similar to the area of ​​the province of Alicante, he broke down from the Ice Platform Larsen C in July 2017 and began a 2,500 km route that took him north. After four years of travel, he ended up disintegrating himself on the island of San Pedro, having previously generated great expectation from scientists.

In this case, scientists could see how the ways of oceanic water are stratified were altered. In this way, there was an effect of displacement towards the depths of particular matter and phytoplankton, which alters the redistribution of nutrients in the water.

Phytoplankton is the basis of tens of species, and right now It is found in great concentrations in Greenland by melbergs melts. And although it can be positive for marine life and Atmospheric co -capturethere is a paste: changes in temperature, chemical composition and salinity can alter ecosystems.

Effects of A23a. A23A disintegration may have beneficial effects, according to researchers. And it is that the fact of releasing nutrients to the ocean can favor biological productivity. But above all, negative effects stand out, since fragmentation also raises challenges for navigation and fishing in the South Atlantic, since smaller fragments are more difficult to track than the main block.

In Xataka | Terranova has seen how an iceberg colossal approaches its coast. The show is surprising; The phenomenon, no