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Source : This post has been created based on the article “World’s biggest iceberg battered by waves as it heads north” published in “The Hindu” on 22nd January 2024.
Why in the news?
The World’s Largest Iceberg , named A23a, was seen in Antarctica on January 14.
What is an Iceberg?
An iceberg is large pieces of freshwater ice that broke off from glaciers or shelf ice and is floating in open water.
To be qualified as an iceberg, the height of the ice must be greater than 16 feet above sea level and the thickness must be 98-164 feet and the ice must cover an area of at least 5,382 square feet.
About A23a
IMAGE SOURCE:map data:OSM,NASA, SENTINEL-3
Origin: A23a first broke off the Antarctic coast in 1986. It is the world’s oldest and largest iceberg.
| Aspect | Description |
| Origin | A23a first broke off the Antarctic coast in 1986. It is the world’s oldest and largest iceberg. |
| shape | Tooth-shaped |
| Length | Nearly 4,000 square kilometers (twice the size of greater London) |
| Thickness | Up to 400 meters thick in places |
| Volume | It contains an estimated one trillion tons of fresh water |
| Location | Currently drifting between Elephant Island and the South Orkney Islands |
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Some important points about icebergs
Icebergs are a natural process that is one or two big ones break off every year. After breaking free A23a followed the same path as massive icebergs A68 and A76.
The iceberg is moving into the Southern Ocean so warmer waters and bigger waves will start to break it up.
UPSC SYLLABUS: Geography and Environment
