China Meteorological Administration reports Fengyun-3D satellite shows A23a iceberg in final stage of disintegration

Key facts

• China's Fengyun-3D satellite has found that A23a, once the world's largest iceberg, has entered the final stage of its disintegration.
• True-color images with 250-meter resolution captured on January 14 showed that the iceberg's main body has reduced to just 506 square kilometers.
• The iceberg has shrunk to less than one-eighth its initial size of 4,170 square kilometers when it broke away from the Antarctic ice shelf in 1986.
• The primary cause of this rapid breakup is hydrofracturing.
• Satellite images showed blue-colored meltwater accumulating in the iceberg's center, held there by natural bulges on the edges.