WASHINGTON: NASA recently confirmed that the world's largest iceberg, B-15 that broke away from Antartica's Ross Ice Shelf 18 years ago, is near to its end.
The original iceberg measured about 296 kilometres long and 37 kilometres wide. Since its journey began it got broken into numerous smaller bergs, most of it melting away.
Just four pieces remain that meet the minimum size requirement - at least 37 kilometres to be tracked by the US National Ice Center.
The recent photograph captured on May 22 by astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) shows that the iceberg measures 18- kilometres long and nine kilometres wide.
According to NASA, the iceberg may soon be non-trackable if it further decreases in size.
A previous image showed B-15 farther south in October 2017, after it had ridden the coastal countercurrent about three-quarters of the way around Antarctica bringing it to the Southern Ocean off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Currents prevented the berg from continuing through the Drake Passage; instead, B-15 cruised north into the southern Atlantic Ocean.
When the May 2018 photograph was acquired, the berg was about 277 kilometres northwest of the South Georgia islands.
Icebergs that make it this far have been known to rapidly melt and end their life cycles here.