World’s biggest iceberg breaks up after 40 years

(CNN) – The world’s largest iceberg has broken apart.

Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey said the iceberg, known as A23a, is “rapidly breaking up” into “very large chunks.”

Previously, the iceberg weighed roughly 1.1 trillion tons and spanned more than 1,400 square miles, which is slightly bigger than the size of Rhode Island.

Now, the “megaberg” has shrunk to about 650 square miles, roughly the size of Greater London.

Scientists have been tracking A23a closely for decades, ever since it split from the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in Antarctica in 1986.

For more than 30 years, the iceberg remained grounded, likely until it shrank just enough to loosen its grip on the seafloor.

The crown for the world’s largest iceberg is now held by D15a, which measures about 1,100 square miles