It measures a whopping 210 sq miles – almost as big as the city of Chicago in Illinois (230 sq miles).
But this newborn iceberg, dubbed A-84, looks like a tiny ice cube in a fascinating new animation.
Incredible images from the NASA Earth Observatory show A-84 ‘calving’ from the George VI Ice Shelf along the Antarctic coastline.
The new berg was ‘born’ in mid-January and measures about 19 miles (30 km) long and 11 miles (17 km) wide, giving it an area approaching that of Chicago.
However, it’s nowhere near as big as the world’s largest iceberg known as A23a, which is approximately 1,297 sq miles (3360 sq km).
Experts believe that A-84 may flip or capsize as it melts and breaks apart in the open ocean.
As icebergs melt, they release nutrients into the water which benefit the growth of microscopic plants called phytoplankton, which form the base of the Antarctic food chain.
However, large icebergs pose a threat to ships, as they break up into smaller chunks of ice.
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The A-84 iceberg breaks off near the southern end of the George VI Ice Shelf, like a jigsaw piece falling out of place
NASA Earth Observatory’s animation comprises of 21 images acquired between January 15 and February 15, 2025, with several days omitted during this period due to cloud cover.
They were captured by Suomi NPP, a weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as well as NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites.
As the imagery shows, the A-84 iceberg breaks off near the southern end of the George VI Ice Shelf, like a jigsaw piece falling out of place.
Shown in fast motion, it tumbles along the Antarctic Peninsula – the part of the continent that sticks out like a jagged tail, pointing towards South America.
It sails down Ronne Entrance (the bay that abuts the southern end of the ice shelf) past Smyley Island and then appears to head in a northwesterly direction towards the Southern Ocean.
NASA Earth Observatory said the iceberg has drifted about 150 miles (250km) from its point of origin in the space of a month.
‘I’m impressed by how fast it has moved in the coastal current,’ said Christopher Shuman, a retired glaciologist with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
‘It makes me wonder just what is happening in the water under the ice shelf.’
Over the past month, the potato-shaped berg has drifted about 150 miles (250 km) from its point of origin near the George VI Ice Shelf’s southern end along the base of the Antarctic Peninsula
Ice shelves are permanent floating sheets of ice that connect to the edge of a landmass – in this case, Antarctica
George VI ice shelf is the second largest ice-shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula, with area of approximately 9,266 sq miles (24,000 sq km). Pictured, reflections of King George VI Ice Shelf in meltpool, Alexander Island, Antarctica
Antarctica is home to a number of ice shelves marked out in this map, including Amery, Shackleton and Ross. The formations are also found along Arctic coastlines
Ice shelves are permanent floating sheets of ice that connect to the edge of a landmass – in this case, Antarctica.
George VI Ice Shelf is the second largest ice-shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula, with area of approximately 9,266 sq miles (24,000 sq km).
It was only discovered in 1935 during a flight by American polar explorer Lincoln Ellsworth and named after the current British monarch.
Observations made by explorers beginning in the early 1940s, and later by remote sensing, show that the George VI has been losing shelf ice.
For now, the retreat has been gradual, aided by the stability provided by its unique location, sandwiched between the Antarctic Peninsula and Alexander Island.
Experts say a ‘rift’ – a crack or fracture – was evident on the George VI Ice Shelf in late 2024, but the future berg was still hemmed in by sea ice at the Ronne Entrance.
By January 2025, most of the seasonal sea ice had melted, and ocean currents carried the new iceberg away.
Icebergs are created when pieces of ice break off the end of an ice shelf or a glacier that flows into a body of water.
At the peak of the 2019-2020 summer melt season, jewel-toned ponds of meltwater spanned a vast area on the George VI Ice Shelf (pictured)
This artist impression shows Suomi NPP, a weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Suomi NPP examines long-term climate change and short-term weather conditions, from the dynamics of clouds to oceans, vegetation, ice, solid Earth and atmosphere
This is called ‘calving’ and it’s a natural process that is responsible for ice loss at the edges of glaciers and ice sheets.
However, factors such as warming air and water along with decreasing protective sea ice can accelerate calving and lead to collapse, the agency warns.
Antarctica is roughly shaped like a disk, except where the peninsula protrudes out of the high polar latitudes and into lower, warmer latitudes.
It is here that Antarctica sees the most dramatic changes due to climate change – including collapsing ice shelves and glacier retreat.
For example, the world’s largest iceberg, A23a, broke free of the Antarctic’s Filchner Ice Shelf, which just the other side of the peninsula from George VI.
A23a weighs around one trillion tonnes – about 100 million times as heavy as the Eiffel Tower in Paris – and is now travelling north towards towards South Georgia at a rate of about 30 miles per day.
Experts are concerned that it could kill wildlife such as penguins and seals when it reaches South Georgia, the island in the South Atlantic Ocean.
