{"id":320141,"date":"2026-04-17T14:03:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T08:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=320141"},"modified":"2026-04-17T14:03:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T08:33:21","slug":"worlds-oldest-iceberg-isnt-any-more-a23a-melts-into-puddle-of-water-after-40-years-news-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/worlds-oldest-iceberg-isnt-any-more-a23a-melts-into-puddle-of-water-after-40-years-news-world\/","title":{"rendered":"World’s oldest iceberg isn’t any more: A23a melts into puddle of water after 40 years | News World"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
\n\n
\n\t\t\t<\/div>The iceberg \u2013 designated A-23A- photographed from an RAF aircraft flying over Antarctica in January 2025 (Picture: MOD\/Cover Media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
One among the biggest icebergs ever recorded has finally disintegrated after a 4 many years.<\/p>\n
The mass \u2013 designated A-23A- calved from the Filchner Ice Shelf in Antarctica in 1986 and for a few years it was the world\u2019s biggest.<\/p>\n
Its journey ultimately led to the South Atlantic Ocean in early April 2026 \u2013 just months in need of its fortieth anniversary. <\/p>\n
Satellite images captured it from birth within the Weddell Sea to disintegration. It had drifted greater than 2,300km (1,429 miles) north into warmer waters near South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. <\/p>\n
There, it rapidly melted, fractured and shrank.<\/p>\n\n
\n\t\t\t<\/div>Fragments of Iceberg A-23A are seen in January because it entered its final weeks (Picture: NASA Earth Observatory\/Cover Media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n\t\t\t\tEnroll for all of the newest stories\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
\n
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates<\/strong> newsletter or get Breaking News <\/strong>alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
A-23A owed its longevity to becoming wedged on the ocean floor where the temperatures were cold enough to maintain it preserved.<\/p>\n
But in its final months, it underwent extensive melting and break-up. By late March 2026, scientists estimated it had shrunk to simply over 170 sq km (105 sq miles) \u2013 a small fraction of the greater than 6,000 sq km (3,728 sq miles) it covered in 2020 when it was still grounded off Antarctica.<\/p>\n
Pools of deep-blue meltwater formed across its surface, weakening the structure and certain contributing to its collapse. Cloud cover obscured a few of its final moments from satellites. <\/p>\n
\u2018I noticed in recent weeks how Mother Nature appeared to keep a veil (of clouds) over the dying iceberg as if trying to provide it some privacy at this stage,\u2019 said Jan Lieser of Bureau of Meteorology.<\/p>\n\n
\n\t\t\t<\/div>The route the iceberg took. It calved within the Weddell Sea before finally collapsing greater than 1,400 miles away (Picture: NASA Earth Observatory\/Cover Media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
There have been still enough observations, nevertheless, to capture glimpses of its final break-up, in addition to the numerous stages of its long and winding journey.<\/p>\n
A-23A\u2019s lifespan coincided with major advances in Earth commentary. The Landsat program tracked it from the Nineteen Eighties onwards, while later missions akin to Terra satellite and Aqua satellite provided regular, wide-area coverage.<\/p>\n
In more moderen years, a growing fleet of satellites has offered unprecedented detail \u2014 from changes within the iceberg\u2019s shape to its impact on surrounding marine ecosystems. <\/p>\n\n
\n\t\t\t<\/div>Satellite imagery showing the formation of the iceberg in 1986, which was to change into the biggest on earth (Picture: NASA Earth Observatory\/Cover Media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station also captured close-up views.<\/p>\n
\u2018The technology that permits us to inform \u2018iceberg stories\u2019 is a tribute to the engineers and funding that put crucial sensors into orbit to gather those data and make them accessible,\u2019 said Christopher Shuman, formerly of the University of Maryland. <\/p>\n
\u2018Through time, these efforts have allowed us to grasp the overall patterns of iceberg movement around Antarctica, especially within the last handful of many years.\u2019<\/p>\n
Despite many years of observations, scientists say many questions remain about how icebergs move and break apart.<\/p>\n\n
\n\t\t\t<\/div>Iceberg A-23A pictured in April 1986, shortly after it had calved (Picture: NASA Earth Observatory\/Cover Media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Researchers are continuing to research the roles played by ocean currents, seabed features and rotating columns of water in shaping their paths. <\/p>\n
Smaller fragments that break away from giant icebergs are of particular concern, as they will pose hazards to shipping and are difficult to trace.<\/p>\n
Even within the case of A-23A, uncertainties persist \u2013 including the character of the seabed where it remained stuck for years after calving, and the way it later became trapped in a rotating ocean vortex near the South Orkney Islands.<\/p>\n
\u2018We actually do know a good bit concerning the general drift patterns of icebergs and the overall environment,\u2019 Lieser said. \u2018But in relation to individual pieces \u2013 large and small \u2013 and their tracks, there\u2019s still a good bit to learn.\u2019<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/coverimages55618286-6797.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646\")
\t<\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/coverimages55618282-495c.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646\")
\t<\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/coverimages55618283-9e5f.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646\")
\t<\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/coverimages55618281-1786.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646\")
\t<\/div>