Iceberg A23a, whose fate has been monitored by scientists at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) for almost 40 years, has lost 67% of its original area, and at the same time its status as the world’s largest iceberg. Its area has been reduced to 1,370 square kilometers, according to the AIA.
According to experts, over the past three months, the A23a has decreased by 22% and lost the lead to the iceberg D15A. At the same time, the giant A23a continues to drift through clear water in the Southern Ocean, 230 km northwest of the island of South Georgia.
Iceberg A23a. Photo: aari_official / Telegram
Iceberg A23a broke off from the Filchner ice shelf in 1986. At the time of its formation, its area was 4,170 square kilometers (almost twice the size of St. Petersburg). He was stranded in the Weddell Sea for more than 30 years, then began drifting along the coast of Antarctica.
In July 2023, it became known that the A23a began moving at a speed of about 150 km per month. However, in August 2024, the iceberg got caught in an oceanic vortex and stopped. The AAI researchers predicted that the iceberg would rotate under the influence of the Antarctic circumpolar current until complete destruction, but this did not happen.
A few months later, in December 2024, the ice block managed to escape from the trap. At that time, the iceberg was twice the size of London and weighed almost 1 trillion tons. He began to drift in the Southern Ocean towards the British island of South Georgia, which is located in the south Atlantic Ocean. British scientists predicted a possible collision of the ice block with the island, but eventually the trajectory changed and the iceberg passed away from the coastline.
In early March, A23a ran aground near the British island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. During the three months that the iceberg was stranded, its area decreased by 7%. At the beginning of June, it was 2,730 square kilometers, which was comparable to the area of Moscow. In September 2025, four large fragments with a total area of more than 800 square kilometers broke off from the A23a. They continue to exist as independent icebergs. In December 2025, the A23a split into parts.
“The A23a life cycle scenario justifies our forecasts: under the influence of wind and currents in the ocean, sufficiently large pieces regularly break off from the iceberg, which leads to a reduction in the area and its gradual destruction. The melting of the ice giant will not affect the level of the world’s oceans. The process proceeds very slowly, and the water manages to redistribute evenly,” said Polina Soloshchuk.
The title of the largest iceberg in the world has passed to D15A, whose area is 3,071 square kilometers, which is twice the current size of A23a. D15A broke off from the ice shelf in January 2016 and is currently stranded near the coast of Princess Elizabeth Land in the Eastern part of Antarctica.
RBC
