World's biggest iceberg the 'size of Majorca' breaks off from Antarctica

An enormous iceberg has calved from the western side of the Ronne Ice Shelf, lying in the Weddell Sea, in Antarctica. The iceberg, dubbed A-76, measures around 4320 sq km in size – currently making it the largest berg in the world.
Credit: ESA

The world's biggest iceberg, the size of the Spanish island Majorca, has broken off from Antarctica.

The enormous iceberg, dubbed A-76, broke off from the western side of the Ronne Ice Shelf that lies in the Weddell Sea, in Antarctica.

It measures 170 km (106 miles) in length and 25 km (16 miles) wide and around 4320 sq km (2684 miles) in size – making it it the largest 'berg in the world and just slightly smaller than the Balearic Island of Majorca.

The sheer scale of the iceberg was captured in images by Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission.

The latest berg snatches first place from the A-23A iceberg (approximately 3880 sq km - 2410 sq miles - in size) which is also located in the Weddell Sea. In comparison, the A-74 iceberg that broke off the Brunt Ice Shelf in February earlier this year, was only 1270 sq km.

The iceberg was spotted by the British Antarctic Survey and confirmed from the US National Ice Center using Copernicus Sentinel-1 imagery. Icebergs are traditionally named from the Antarctic quadrant in which they were originally sighted, then a sequential number followed by a sequential letter if the iceberg breaks.