MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

World's largest iceberg headed for South Georgia Island

A larger ice formation broke off in 1986 from the Antarctic Filchner Ice Shelf when it cracked into three smaller pieces, A23a being one of them

According to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the 3,600 square kilometer iceberg known as A23a broke off from Antarctica and was reportedly going adrift in the South Atlantic, probably towards South Georgia Island. It is arguably the world's largest and oldest iceberg, with ice sheets 400 meters thick, and weighing almost one billion tons.

A group of BAS scientists came to this conclusion after examining satellite images, where they saw the iceberg drifting and heading towards the South Atlantic. A BAS spokesperson told EFE Monday that scientists “continue to monitor the situation” and follow the iceberg's route to report whenever something relevant occurs.

A larger ice formation broke off in 1986 from the Antarctic Filchner Ice Shelf when it cracked into three smaller pieces, A23a being one of them.

Experts have tracked it and found that for months it was trapped in the Taylor Column. In this oceanographic phenomenon, rotating water traps objects on its surface, which kept A23a rotating about a point while delaying its anticipated northward journey.

Researchers foresee that the iceberg will continue its route into the South Atlantic, following the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which will likely push it toward South Georgia Island, where it will encounter warmer waters that would break it into smaller icebergs until it melts away.

BAS oceanographer Andrew Meijers, who is co-leading the project to understand how the ice sheet affects the ocean, said in a statement on the official website of the British Antarctic Society that he was excited “to see A23a on the move again after periods of stagnation.”

“We are interested in seeing if it will follow the same route as other large icebergs that have broken off from Antarctica. And more importantly, what impact this will have on the local ecosystem,” he stressed.