World's Largest Iceberg Escapes Its Life Preserver

After months spinning on the spot, the Antarctic iceberg that refuses to die might now, at 38 years old, be on its final legs. Officially known as A23a, the world's largest iceberg, a little larger than Rhode Island, has shifted out of the swirling vortex of water in which it became trapped and is moving north, in the direction of certain death, according to the British Antarctic Survey. This marks a milestone for the 1,500-square-mile iceberg that broke off the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in 1986 and quickly became lodged on the floor of the Weddell Sea, where it remained for three decades, per the BBC. It started drifting in recent years but then became trapped in a churning column of water known as a Taylor column, preventing much of its expected melting.

Having now escaped the column's clutches, "we are interested to see if it will take the same route the other large icebergs that have calved off Antarctica have taken," BAS oceanographer Dr. Andrew Meijers tells the BBC. Icebergs typically follow ocean currents in the direction of South Georgia Island and warmer waters, where they eventually break up and melt, reports CNN. "At present, [A23a] is heading straight for [South Georgia], but we know the water current veers southeast when it encounters the continental shelf, so we expect A23a to make a sharp turn, too," reports former BBC journalist Jonanthan Amos. Scientists will continue to track A23a while studying its effect on the waters it touches. (More icebergs stories.)