The Fate of the World's Largest Iceberg, A23a

Sep 8, 2025

Minseo Kim

edition.cnn.com

Almost four decades after it split from Antarctica, the largest iceberg in the world, A23a, is finally starting to break apart and could vanish within weeks, according to reports from AFP and other news outlets. This massive chunk of ice first detached from the Filchner Ice Shelf in the Weddell Sea in August 1986, covering approximately 3,460 square kilometers. Weighing over a trillion tons, it quickly became grounded in shallow waters, remaining stationary for years and resembling a frozen isle.

Indicators of change became apparent around 2020, as winds and currents began to free the iceberg from its fixed position. By late 2023, it started to drift gradually northward, ultimately reaching waters close to South Georgia Island, positioned between Antarctica and Argentina. Since that time, A23a has been steadily breaking down. Its current estimation is around 1,770 square kilometers, still nearly three times the size of Seoul but already reduced by fifty percent. Throughout this period, it has cast off thousands of smaller pieces, which satellites have noted sparkling on the ocean’s surface like stars scattered in the night sky.

Recently, a chunk measuring nearly 400 square kilometers detached, raising alarms for nearby shipping lanes. Scientists are cautioning that the fragmentation is speeding up, with the iceberg’s underside already deteriorating in warmer waters. Andrew Meijers from the British Antarctic Survey remarked that A23a’s prolonged existence is remarkable, as most icebergs tend to disappear rapidly once they leave the Antarctic’s frigid conditions. He also mentioned that while calving is a natural process, the increased rate of melting is likely connected to climate change caused by human activities.

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