Antarctica gives way to a breathtaking, but also disturbing show. THE’Iceberg A-23Athe largest in the world, has concluded (for now) its epic journey and seems to have found an unexpected stop: the waters off South Georgia. The satellite images of NASA, clear and detailed, capture the immensity of this white giant, an island of ice that dominates the marine horizon.
With an area of 3,460 square kilometers, the A-23A journey, which began in Weddell seawas long and tortuous, a glacial odyssey through the sea of Scotland. Now, the satellite images of early March 2025 show a significant slowdown in its movements, suggesting a possible arenic near the South Georgia.
This remote island, part of the British overseas territory of South Georgia and Austral Sandwich Islands, is a place of extraordinary beauty and biodiversity. Although not having a permanent human population, it hosts a scientific research station and attracts tourists fascinated by its history and its wild nature. Foche, penguins and the microscopic phytoplankton thrive in these waters, which are also found along the “Via degli Iceberg”, an oceanic path frequented by many Antarctic ice giants.
Christopher Shumanretired glaciologist ofMaryland Universityfollowed closely the journey of the-25a. Using the satellite images, he traced his drift since he detached himself from the seabed in the early 2020s, after decades of stay in the Southern Weddell sea. The iceberg, Born from the Filchner ice platform in 1986has now gone over 2,000 kilometers north of its place of origin.
The satellite images, captured by Modis (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on the Aqua Nasa satellite, offer an impressive perspective on the position of the iceberg compared to the island and its underwater platform.
Josh Willisoceanographer of Jet propulsion laboratory Della Nasa, confirms that the currents seem to have pushed the A-23a in the same region of low seabed already encountered by other geargs of considerable size. The previous example is the A-68a, a giant of a thousand billion tons who approached the South Georgia in December 2020. Even that iceberg met the shallow platform of the island, and then fragment and disintegrate into the sea of northern Scotia.
The studies revealed that the dissolution of the fund of the-68a has released 152 billion tons of fresh water in the ocean during its three months of stay near the island. This freshwater influx can have an impact on the local marine environment, influencing salinity and water temperature, and bringing nutrients that stimulate organic production.
The final fate of the-23a is still uncertain. The hottest waters and currents could lead to its fragmentation and merger, but it remains to be seen if it will remain trapped off the southern Georgia or if it will resume its journey. Satellite images continue to provide precious information about this natural phenomenon and its potential consequences.
