Featured Image Credit: @BAS_News/X/BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY
It turns out even the world's largest iceberg (and it's seriously massive) doesn't sit still, as demonstrated in a funky new timelapse of images.
The iceberg is called the A23a megaburg, and is roughly the size of Rhode Island or Cornwall - so it's absolutely huge.
While it has spent large stretches of time in pretty much the same spot, it's untethered and can move if the currents hit it right - and it's been doing just that recently, travelling at speeds of up to 30 miles a day depending on a range of factors.
In fact, between late December 2023 and February 2024, it moved around so much that the British Antarctic Survey was able to stitch together satellite imagery to create a really fun little video.
It shows the megaburg spinning around as it finally breaks free to move around, hilariously set to the tune of Kylie Minogue's Spinning Around.
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A follow-up explanation from the British Antarctic Survey is pretty handy for outlining what's actually going on.
It explains that the megaburg had been stuck to the ocean floor for around 30 years before it started to move - that's not a matter of a shallow ocean, though. Rather, the megaburg is around 400 meters tall in some places, so it effectively ran aground.
Now it's on the move again and following a similar path to other massive icebergs that have been charted in recent years.
All of this is happening near the northern tip of Antarctica, near fairly barren and inhospitable islands like Elephant Island.
Obviously, an iceberg of this size has to be carefully watched, since it wouldn't be ideal if it headed towards a bay or a coastline that's sensitive or inhabited. Equally, its sheer size means there wouldn't be much we could do about it, beyond issuing warnings.
Part of the interest in the iceberg is also about what it leaves in its wake - these huge icebergs can apparently leave behind trails of nutrients as they pass through, creating new ecosystems underwater and revitalizing areas that might have been previously barren.
That's a fascinating idea, although it's hard to escape the sense that this story is also to do with the ever-deepening climate crisis - after all, the idea of shrinking icebergs and ice caps makes that topic hard to ignore.
