The largest iceberg in the world is “moving”... What happened?
The largest iceberg in the world has begun to move, after decades of remaining at the bottom of the sea in Antarctica, according to what the American CNN news network reported.
A huge block of ice broke off from the Felchner Rune Ice Shelf in 1986 and froze almost immediately at the bottom of the Weddell Sea in Antarctica.
The source said that this iceberg is called "A23a" and its thickness exceeds 400 meters and its area is about 4,000 square kilometers, which means that its size is more than twice the size of the British capital (1,572 square kilometers).
After nearly 3 decades, scientists Ella Gilbert and Oliver Marsh believe that the iceberg has shrunk enough to lose its grip on the sea floor, as part of the ice shelf's natural growth cycle, and has begun to move.
They added that "A23a" has won the title of "the largest iceberg currently" several times since the 1980s, and is sometimes surpassed by larger but shorter-lived icebergs, including "A68" in 2017, and "A76" in 2021.
The two scientists suggested that the iceberg, which is carried by ocean currents, will move eastward, and according to available figures, “A23a” is moving at a rate of 5 kilometers per day.
They stated: "Although this particular iceberg broke off as part of the ice shelf's natural growth cycle, climate change is driving changes in Antarctica's ice, and the continent is losing huge amounts of ice every year."
