‘World’s largest iceberg', NASA reveals its new satellite image
1 min read 12 Nov 2022, 11:23 AM ISTNASA Earth has shared the information on its official Twitter handle and posted its picture.
PremiumThe American space agency, NASA has revealed a new satellite image of Antarctic iceberg A-76A, the biggest remaining piece of what was once the largest floating iceberg. NASA Earth has shared the information on its official Twitter handle and posted its picture.
"Meet Antarctic iceberg A-76A — the biggest remaining piece of what was once the largest floating iceberg. In October 2022, @NASA’s Terra satellite spotted the berg drifting into the turbulent Drake Passage between Antarctica and South America," NASA tweeted.
In June 2021, the US National Ice Center (USNIC) reported that the iceberg is 135 kilometers long and 26 kilometers wide, the total area about twice the size of London, according to information available on NASA website.
As per the US National Ice Center reports, the Antarctic iceberg A-76A was found in same dimensions in October 2021.
The American space agency further informed that the iceberg's parent berg (A-76) broke from Antarctica’s Ronne Ice Shelf in May 2021. At that time, it was the largest iceberg anywhere on the planet.
However, the iceberg lost its status when it broke into three named pieces within a month. Of those pieces, the largest chunk Iceberg A-76A—now drifts nearly 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) away in the Drake Passage.
Drake Passage is a turbulent water body that lies between South America’s Cape Horn and Antarctica’s South Shetland Islands, including Elephant Island visible in the image posted in tweet, according to NASA reports.
However, its path suggests that the iceberg may soon move farther north into the canal. It is already more than 500 kilometers north of its position in July 2022, NASA stated.
NASA says that icebergs are usually pushed east by the powerful Antarctic Circumpolar Current funneling through the Drake Passage. From this point, the icebergs often whip north toward the equator and quickly melt in the area's warmer water.
