Scientists have shown caves and arches formed in the largest iceberg in the world. PHOTO
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A team of scientists photographed huge caves and arches “carved” in the walls of the world’s largest iceberg called A23a.
An iceberg floats in the ocean north of Antarctica. It has an area of almost 4,000 square kilometers – about three times the size of Los Angeles and New York. Scientists predict that the iceberg may disappear completely over time, CNN writes.
This giant block of ice is gradually eroding as it moves north from Antarctica and is exposed to higher temperatures. As a result, arches and caves are formed in the layer of ice.
The expedition team witnessed how pieces of the iceberg broke off into the sea, a representative of EYOS Expeditions told the publication.
Huge caves and arches, “carved” in the walls of the largest iceberg in the world called A23a |
Iceberg A23a is moving for the first time in more than three decades. A huge mass of ice broke off from the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in 1986, and almost immediately ended up at the bottom of the Weddell Sea in Antarctica, becoming an “ice island”.
This giant block of ice is gradually eroding |
This iceberg has held the title of “world’s largest” several times since the 1980s, but has occasionally been surpassed by larger but less “lively” icebergs, such as A68 in 2017 and A76 in 2021.
ALL PHOTOS: EYOS Expeditions |
Scientists believe that while this particular iceberg likely broke off as part of the natural cycle of ice shelf growth, climate change is causing alarming changes to this vast, isolated continent, with potentially devastating consequences such as global sea level rise.
Read also: British polar explorers have shown an iceberg the size of London that broke off in Antarctica
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