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These are the A-76A and A-81 icebergs. The A-81 broke away from the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica in late January and is roughly the size of the province of Utrecht. The A-76A broke through the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in May 2021 and is shaped like an ironing board, but with an area of 3,000 square kilometers. It’s twice the size of the A-81.
It often happens that large chunks of pack ice break off. This is called calving. But it is rare that they are so large and drift so far. The world’s largest known iceberg, A-23A, broke off from the same plate as A-76A in 1986. Since then, the iceberg has been floating in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica.
The icebergs are currently floating several hundred kilometers east of the Argentine coast. As they drift further north or closer to the continent, they interfere with shipping routes to and from South America. They also cause problems for fishermen who work in these waters.
When ships encounter large icebergs, they usually have no choice but to go around them. The majority of icebergs are found below the surface of the water. As a result, they are often larger and above all much heavier than they appear.
The British Antarctic Survey warns that due to their size, icebergs cannot just cause problems for ships. Because they are so massive, they displace a lot of water when they float. This disrupts the living conditions of marine animals, both on the surface and on the bottom.
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