The world’s largest iceberg, A-23A, has finally broken into chunks just days before its 40th birthday.
Weighing over a trillion tons, the iceberg formed from Antarctica’s Filchner Ice Shelf back in 1986 and remained grounded on the ocean floor for about 34 years before breaking free in 2020.
A-23A was a massive mega-mountain, about 1,540 square kilometers, almost the size of Greater London. It moved about 2,000 miles before finally ending its ocean odyssey.
The iceberg’s slow journey fascinated scientists around the world. In recent months, significant melting reduced its size to about 66 square kilometers before dissolution.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the news of the iceberg’s end in a blog post on Monday, April 13, 2026.
The US space agency wrote: “Antarctic Iceberg A-23A’s journey ends in fragmentation in the South Atlantic, after a 40-year lifetime documented by satellites.”
Dr. Jan Lieser of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology tracked the iceberg using remote sensing.
Dr. Speaking about its disintegration, Jan said: “I have noticed in recent weeks how Mother Nature seemed to keep a veil of clouds over the dying iceberg, as if she was trying to give it some privacy at this stage.”
The last images of the iceberg, taken on April 3, show its small fragments floating in the South Atlantic.
