Rare image Once the world's largest iceberg disintegrates - satellite shows details
Once the largest iceberg in the world, A23a is now rapidly disintegrating. A rare image has captured signs that the giant will soon be lost.
16.01.2026, 22:52
dpa
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- What was once the world's largest iceberg is slowly disintegrating.
- Rare satellite images show the first signs of the disintegration of iceberg A23a.
- According to the space agency Esa, it is on its way to warmer climes.
It was the largest iceberg in the world, now it is breaking up into its individual pieces. The imminent disintegration of iceberg A23a has been captured on a new satellite image. The rare image shows the first signs that the iceberg will soon disintegrate completely, according to the European Space Agency Esa. The fact that the image provides a clear, cloud-free view is unusual.
"The light blue areas visible on its surface and on the icebergs south of it are pools of meltwater, which are clear signs of the iceberg's rapid disappearance." The view was taken by the Sentinel-2 satellite of the European Copernicus earth observation program.
Into warmer waters
Iceberg A23a was once the world's largest iceberg; at around 4,000 square kilometers, it was originally around four and a half times the size of Berlin. Broken off from the Antarctic mainland - the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf - in 1986, it was stuck to the seabed for decades. After it broke free in 2000, it remained trapped in circulating ocean currents for a long time and quickly drifted away from the Antarctic waters in November 2023.
The ice giant is now in the South Atlantic. On 20 December, the satellite captured it about 150 kilometers northwest of the island of South Georgia, surrounded by several small icebergs. According to Esa, the former giant now only measures around 1,000 square kilometers. It has therefore already lost around three quarters of its former size.
It is not unusual for icebergs that reach so far north to disintegrate, and this is due to warmer sea temperatures and weather conditions. According to Esa, A23a is on course for even warmer climes. It will soon share the fate of other icebergs that have disintegrated in these waters.
