World's largest iceberg breaks up

tảng băng - Ảnh 1. — Experts say warm ocean waters and the Southern Hemisphere spring mean icebergs are likely to break up quickly - Photo: REUTERS

According to CNN, the A23a iceberg - once the world's largest iceberg with an area of about 3,672 ^{square kilometers} - is rapidly breaking into many small pieces, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) said.

A23a - which once weighed about 1.1 trillion tonnes - now covers just 1,700 ^square kilometres, the size of Greater London, and is at risk of continuing to disintegrate in the coming weeks.

A23a has held the title of "largest iceberg" many times since the 1980s. With its fragmentation, the "throne" now belongs to D15a, about 3,000km ² wide, which is stable near the Davis research station (Australia).

A23a still holds the second spot but could lose that title altogether if it breaks into chunks too small to track.

Experts explain that warm ocean waters and the Southern Hemisphere spring accelerated the breakup of A23a.

Previously, A23a was stuck for more than 30 years at the bottom of the Weddell Sea (Antarctica), then was swept away by ocean currents since 2020, hitting the continental shelf many times and continuing its journey around South Georgia Island.

Scientists note that although there is not yet enough data to confirm the increase in the number of “super icebergs” due to climate change, it is clear that Antarctic ice shelves have lost trillions of tons of ice over the past several decades due to iceberg formation and melting, mainly due to warming seas and changing ocean currents.

Notably, according to BAS, the disintegration of “super icebergs” like A23a could have a major impact on marine life by releasing huge amounts of fresh water.

In addition, human-caused climate change is driving worrying changes in Antarctica, which could lead to rising sea levels.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tang-bang-troi-lon-nhat-the-gioi-vo-vun-20250904134632035.htm