The world’s largest glacier is on its way again after being trapped in a vortex for most of the year.
The A23a is 3,800 square kilometers (1,500 sq mi), twice the size of Greater London, and is 400m (1,312ft) high. It broke off in Antarctica in 1986 although it quickly stuck to the coast.
The depth of the iceberg meant that its bottom rested on the bottom of the Weddell Sea, part of the Southern Ocean, where it remained for more than 30 years.
It started moving north in 2020 but, since spring, has been circling in place after being caught in a rotating water column near the South Orkney Islands.
On Friday the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) said it was now heading north.
Dr Andrew Meijers, oceanographer at BAS, said: “It’s great to see the A23a back on the road after so long being stuck.
“We would like to see if it will go the same way as other large icebergs that have come off Antarctica.”
It is thought that A23a will eventually leave the Southern Ocean and enter the Atlantic Ocean where it will meet with warmer waters and possibly break up into smaller glaciers and eventually melt.
Dr. Meijers and BAS examine the impact of glaciers on local ecosystems after they pass through them.
Last year researchers aboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough collected data on the waters around the A23a.
Laura Taylor, an ecologist who was part of the team, said: “We know that these giant icebergs can provide nutrients to the water they pass through, creating thriving ecosystems in less productive areas.
“What we don’t know is what difference the icebergs, their scale, and their origin can make to that process.”
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