'Queen of icebergs' A23a is no longer the world's biggest

An iceberg that was once the size of Rhode Island and the biggest in the world has lost about 80 per cent of its mass since May, scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) report.

- WORDS SASCHA PARE

Known as A23a, the 'megaberg' has been rapidly disintegrating since becoming trapped in a current flowing counterclockwise around South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic Ocean, Andrew Meijers, a polar oceanographer with the BAS, said. A23a was swept up by the current in May after spending several months grounded on the continental shelf just off South Georgia Island. “It has been following the strong current jet known as the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front (SACCF),” Meijers said, adding that the iceberg will likely end up travelling away from the island in a northeast direction before breaking up completely.