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September 17, 2025 - Iceberg A23A Splinters
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Almost 40 years after calving from the Antarctica’s Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, the oldest (and, until recently, the largest) iceberg on Earth has begun to rapidly splinter apart. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of multiple ice fragments trailing behind Iceberg A23A on September 14, 2025.
The mega-iceberg’s stop-and-go journey is notable. A23A first broke off the ice shelf in 1986, and almost immediately became grounded. Stuck in place for fourteen years, it broke free in 2020 and began to drift northward. In April 2024, a whirling column of water set the big ‘berg spinning in place for 8 months. In December 2024, A23A was moving again, only to get grounded off of South Georgia Island in early March 2025. By July, the ‘berg was on the move once again but started to break apart.
The US National Ice Center (USNIC), the organization that names and tracks large icebergs, has been closely following A23A. On January 1, 2025, USNIC reported that A23A had shed its first fragment, A23B. This was followed by A23C and then, by July 15, A23D and A23E had split from the parent A23A. In August, USNIC reported that the big ‘berg had lost three more fragments—A23F, A23G, and A23H. Then, by September 11, two more shards had shaken loose (A23I, and A23J).
By September, the extensive splintering had reduced the size of A23A so much that it had lost its place as the world’s largest iceberg. The largest is now D15A, an iceberg that was calved in Antarctica’s Amery Sea in 2016 and has moved very little since that time. A23A remains the second-largest iceberg on Earth.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 9/14/2025
Resolutions:
1km (319.8 KB), 500m (836.6 KB), 250m (607.1 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Almost 40 years after calving from the Antarctica’s Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, the oldest (and, until recently, the largest) iceberg on Earth has begun to rapidly splinter apart. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of multiple ice fragments trailing behind Iceberg A23A on September 14, 2025.
The mega-iceberg’s stop-and-go journey is notable. A23A first broke off the ice shelf in 1986, and almost immediately became grounded. Stuck in place for fourteen years, it broke free in 2020 and began to drift northward. In April 2024, a whirling column of water set the big ‘berg spinning in place for 8 months. In December 2024, A23A was moving again, only to get grounded off of South Georgia Island in early March 2025. By July, the ‘berg was on the move once again but started to break apart.
The US National Ice Center (USNIC), the organization that names and tracks large icebergs, has been closely following A23A. On January 1, 2025, USNIC reported that A23A had shed its first fragment, A23B. This was followed by A23C and then, by July 15, A23D and A23E had split from the parent A23A. In August, USNIC reported that the big ‘berg had lost three more fragments—A23F, A23G, and A23H. Then, by September 11, two more shards had shaken loose (A23I, and A23J).
By September, the extensive splintering had reduced the size of A23A so much that it had lost its place as the world’s largest iceberg. The largest is now D15A, an iceberg that was calved in Antarctica’s Amery Sea in 2016 and has moved very little since that time. A23A remains the second-largest iceberg on Earth.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 9/14/2025
Resolutions:
1km (319.8 KB), 500m (836.6 KB), 250m (607.1 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
