Antarctica gives birth to “A-76 Iceberg”(world’s largest iceberg)

What is the News?

The world’s largest existing iceberg has been found in Antarctica. It has been named as A-76 by scientists.

About A-76 Iceberg:

• A-76 Iceber has been spotted in the satellite images captured by the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission.
• Formation: The iceberg has been formed after it broke away from Antarctica’s Ronne Ice Shelf. It is now floating freely in the Weddell Sea, a large bay in western Antarctica.
• Features: The iceberg is shaped like a giant ironing board. It is measured around 170 km in length and 25 km in width. This makes the A-76 to become slightly larger than the Spanish island of Majorca.
• The Largest Existing Iceberg: A-76 is now designated as the largest existing iceberg on the planet. It surpassed the A-23A (It is also floating in the Weddell Sea).
• Significance: Once this iceberg melts, it will not lead to a sea-level rise because it was part of a floating ice shelf. It is just like a melting ice cube doesn’t increase the level of the water in the glass.
  • This makes the icebergs like this different from glaciers or ice sheets. Glaciers or ice sheets found on land, and they raise global sea levels when they break off into the ocean and melt.

Source: TOI

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