Why is the world's largest iceberg, A23a, stuck in a swirling ocean vortex for years? Know here
iceberg in the world, might spend years trapped in its massive circle. This iceberg is roughly 1,640 square miles in size, which makes it five times larger than New York City and marginally larger than Rhode Island. In 1986, A23a separated from the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica. It floated away in 2020, having remained stranded in the Weddell Sea for decades. It didn't, however, make the anticipated transition into the South Atlantic's warmer waters. Rather, it became caught in a revolving current, known as a Taylor Column, just north of the inaccessible South Orkney Islands, with a daily rotation rate of roughly 15 degrees, as per the reports of MSN.
A submerged object in a spinning system, such as Earth, is covered by ocean water, forming a Taylor Column. Here, the vortex is brought on by the Pirie Bank, a lump in the ocean floor. A spinning vortex is created above the obstruction as the river separates into two flows. And now the iceberg is spinning around inside this vortex. This phenomena is a distinct and unexpected aspect of ocean dynamics, according to scientists, including professor Mike Meredith and polar expert Mark Brandon.
Delayed melting
This trap causes a delay in the anticipated slow melting of A23a. Icebergs that are drifting away from Antarctica typically melt over time. But the end of this iceberg will have to wait until it exits the Taylor Column, which may be years away. Sea levels around the world have been significantly impacted by Antarctica's fast ice loss. For instance, the pace of sea ice melting rose sixfold in the thirty years prior to 2020. According to a 2018 study that appeared in Nature, Antarctica lost almost 3 trillion metric tons of ice between 1992 and 2017.
