NASA has released an animation showing the world's largest iceberg breaking free and sinking into the ocean. A23a was stuck in one place for months, unable to get out. Scientists still don't know what caused the huge block of ice to break off.
Iceberg A23a, said to be the largest iceberg in the world, broke off from the Filchner-Ronne ice cap in Antarctica in 1986. For decades it remained “stuck” to the bottom of the Weddell Sea. Only in 2020, a block of ice with an area of about 3,800 square kilometers began its journey in the Antarctic Ocean. Her journey did not last long. In early March 2024, A23a was engulfed in a vortex of water, a phenomenon known as the Taylor plume.
>>> READ MORE ABOUT THIS EVENT
A23a was spinning in place
For about eight months, the iceberg has been drifting in an area about 200 kilometers north of the South Orkney archipelago. A23a made 15 revolutions between March and November 2024, according to Ian Leeser, a specialist at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), who tracked the iceberg.
“I don't know of an iceberg that is so firmly trapped in such a small area,” Leeser said.
Last week, BAS scientists announced that A23a had been released.
A23a is visible at the top of the image (December 9, 2024) NASA
The mountain escapes from the whirlwind. NASA record
An animation released a few days ago by NASA on satellite images shows what happened to the iceberg between November 5 and December 16, 2024. It is worth noting that in the middle of November, the ice block turns, escapes from the vortex and continues its journey towards it. northeast.
Christopher Shuman, a scientist at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Goddard Space Flight Center, estimated that the mountain traveled about 150 miles (240 kilometers) after leaving the vortex. In other words, he traveled about 8 kilometers in one day and turned to the north-east.
It is not yet clear how the iceberg could be released from its trap.
“My hypothesis is that a random perturbation in the system could cause a slight change in the 'normal' flow for the iceberg to find its way out,” Leeser said.
Iceberg A23a spins and detaches from its tether (video without sound) NASA
NASA Earth Observatory, BAS, tvnmeteo.pl
Main image credit: NASA
