British research ship crosses paths with world’s largest iceberg as it drifts out of Antarctica

By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s polar research ship has crossed paths with the largest iceberg in the world. The British Antarctic Survey said Monday that it was a “lucky” encounter that enabled scientists to collect seawater samples around the colossal berg as it drifts out of Antarctic waters. The RRS Sir David Attenborough is on its way to Antarctica for its first scientific mission. The ship passed the mega iceberg known as the A23a on Friday near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The iceberg is about three times the size of New York City. It had been grounded for more than three decades in the Weddell Sea after it split from the Antarctic’s Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986. It began drifting in recent months and has now moved into the Southern Ocean.