The world's largest iceberg is about to enter the Atlantic

The A68 ice sheet has barely moved since its separation from Antarctica, but has recently suddenly accelerated northward.

A68 broke off from Antarctica in 2017. (Image: Business Insider)

When separated from the Larsen C ice shelf in July 2017, the A68 weighs 1,000 billion tons and has a surface area of ​​nearly 6,000 km ² , four times larger than the British capital London and the largest iceberg in the world at the time. that point. It barely moved and lost very little ice for the past two and a half years.

However, prevailing currents and winds are beginning to push the iceberg to the north, along the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Scientists predict that A68 can hardly maintain its integrity as it enters tougher waters in the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.

A68 is currently at 63 ° south latitude and has a very predictable movement.(Photo: BBC).

"With the same length and thickness ratio as five A4 sheets stacked on top of each other, it is surprising that A68 has not yet been broken by the waves," Professor Adrian Luckman from Swansea University, UK told the BBC. "It is difficult to maintain a piece long when moving out of the sea ice edge."

Despite its enormous size, the A68 is still significantly smaller than the largest iceberg ever recorded in the modern era, called B15. The iceberg, covering an area of ​​up to 11,000 km2, separated from the Ross ice shelf in Antarctica in 2000 but broke into small pieces in October 2005 when it drifted north.

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