Picture the sprawling city of Los Angeles. Then triple that size. That’s about the magnitude of the world’s largest iceberg, aka A23a, clocking in at 1,418-square-miles and a whopping one trillion tons.
And that gigantic mass of ice is on the loose.
Scientists with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) announced the news last week:
“The world’s largest and oldest iceberg A23a is on the move. After decades of being grounded on the seafloor and more recently spinning on the spot, the mega-iceberg has broken free from its position north of the South Orkney Islands and is now drifting in the Southern Ocean.”
Originally, the colossal iceberg calved from the Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986. Then, it was stagnant on the seabed in the Weddell Sea for over 30 years. And following that, it was trapped in an arctic vortex of sorts, called the Taylor Column, spinning in one spot and preventing it from traveling north. Now, it’s broken free from that region, and is floating adrift. It’s expected that eventually the iceberg will enter warmer waters, break into smaller icebergs, and eventually melt altogether.
Related: Watch: Iceberg Bursts from the Depths, Creates Potential Surfing Anomaly Wave
“It’s exciting to see A23a on the move again after periods of being stuck,” said oceanographer Dr. Andrew Meijers of the BAS. “We are interested to see if it will take the same route the other large icebergs that have calved off Antarctica have taken. And more importantly what impact this will have on the local ecosystem.”
And what about surfing? What impact will this behemoth of melted ice have on regional and/or global surf spots, if any at all? Well, the answer to that is above our paygrade. That’s the case with global warming, melting ice caps, and rising sea levels – it’s a wait-and-see scenario when it comes to surfing, but some degree of change is inevitable. What will your local spot look like in 50 years?
Related: VIDEO: Surfers Dodge Icebergs and Score Perfect, Empty Waves in Iceland
