The world's largest iceberg, A23A, was captured from space, twice as much as London, and is now shattered due to…
Europe's Sentinel-3 satellite captured the iceberg A23A in southern Georgia, revealing its massive, moving and gradual disintegration.
Recently, the European Space Agency's Ocean and Land Color instruments on the Copernicus Outpost 3 satellite photographed one of the world's largest icebergs, known as the A23a. The image was taken on April 5, 2025 and shows a large iceberg near the remote island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean.
The A23A is currently located on the seabed about 73 kilometers from Southern Georgia. Although the island appears in the image only due to clouds, it is almost the same as the iceberg. The iceberg is estimated to account for 3,460 square kilometers, about twice that of Greater London. By comparison, southern Georgia spans 3,528 square kilometers, making the two sizes nearly equal in size.
In 1986, this huge ice cube initially collapsed or “calves” from the Filchner ice shelf in Antarctica. It has remained fixed on the seabed for decades. But by the end of 2023, it was finally expelled and began to drift north due to ocean currents. Since then, it has traveled more than 2,000 kilometers, making headlines as it gets closer to residential or ecologically sensitive areas.
In the latest satellite imagery, scientists also noticed that the iceberg has begun to decompose. Many smaller cubes of ice are visible in the surrounding deep blue ocean, especially in the north. Experts say this disintegration is common for icebergs entering warm waters. Increased sea temperatures and weather conditions speed up the melting process and cause large Bergs to scatter A23A (such as A23A).
Iceberg's current neighbor, South Georgia, is a remote and mountainous island with a length of 170 kilometers. Its central ridge reaches a height of up to 2,935 meters. Southern Georgia is about 1,400 kilometers east of the Falkland Islands, and the northeast of the Antarctic Peninsula is part of British overseas territory. It is also a vital site for biodiversity, home to Penguins, Navy SEALs and the British Antarctic Survey and Research Station.
The movement and division of A23A are closely monitored by scientists because it can help them understand the behavior of large-scale icebergs and the impact of climate change on polar regions.
