The world’s largest iceberg, A-76, is breaking apart rapidly and turning into smaller fragments. Scientists warn that it could vanish entirely by the end of November. They also caution that if the iceberg disappears completely, the ice on the Antarctic landmass could melt, causing sea levels to rise and threatening coastal regions in various countries.
Once recognised as the largest ice mass on the planet, the A-76 iceberg is now on the brink of disappearing from this list. The massive iceberg has fragmented into smaller pieces, and scientists predict it may be entirely gone by the end of November.
Experts add that even if the iceberg disappears completely, sea levels will not rise immediately. However, the melting of the land ice in the polar region, triggered by the loss of A-76, could increase sea levels by several metres, putting coastal areas in multiple countries at risk.
The A-76 ice mass broke away from Antarctica around 1986. It was named “Grand Chasm” in 1950 by scientists. Researchers at the University of Colorado, monitoring its movement, noted that although the iceberg remained in the southern part of Antarctica for over three decades, it has recently been moving unusually northward.
Massive icebergs have been observed in the area multiple times. Some ice sheets surrounding Antarctica have also undergone similar melting processes. Water seeps into the cracks of the iceberg as the top layer becomes wet, gradually breaking it into fragments.
At the beginning of this year, the iceberg was roughly the size of Rhode Island, the smallest US state, and weighed about one trillion tonnes. After continuous fragmentation, its size has now reduced to roughly the area near Houston, Texas. With A-76 shrinking, the title of the world’s largest iceberg has now passed to another iceberg, D-59.