Famed Iceberg Nears Its End After 40 Years

In the mid-1980s, it quietly broke away from Antarctica; four decades later, what was once the world's largest iceberg is said to have only weeks left. The BBC's Mark Poynting and Erwan Rivault trace the long, strange life of A23a, a slab of ice that started out at about 1,500 square miles, or as big as Rhode Island, then sat grounded in Antarctic mud for more than 30 years before finally slipping into motion again in 2020. Swept along "Iceberg Alley," trapped in swirling ocean vortices, and briefly snagged near South Georgia, A23a has become the oldest continuously tracked iceberg on the planet.

Now, after a year of rapid shrinking, hydrofracturing, and breakup in surface waters nearing 50 degrees Fahrenheit, A23a has dwindled to about 70 square miles and is spiraling through what scientists call its "final dance." Researchers aren't just watching for spectacle: they see A23a as a roaming experiment that may hint at how Antarctica's ice shelves could behave in a warming climate, and what that might mean for sea levels. For the full story of A23a's 40-year journey—and why its demise matters—read the original piece at BBC News.