The world's largest iceberg weighs nearly a trillion tonnes

Imagine a field of ice more than twice the area of Greater London, but as thick as its skyscrapers are tall. This is A23a, current title holder of the world's biggest iceberg.

Scientists have used radar pulses from a European Space Agency satellite to essentially take a tape measure to the colossus. The researchers from the UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling say the berg has lost quite a bit of mass since breaking away from the Antarctic coast in 1986, but it still tips the scales at 950 billion tonnes.

As A23a moves north and warms in the coming weeks, its melt rate will accelerate, and it'll be dumping more fresh water into the ocean daily than is consumed by the entire UK population.

词汇表
Greater London 大伦敦（地区）
skyscraper [ˈskaɪˌskreɪpə(r)] 摩天大楼
title holder 冠军头衔保持者
iceberg [ˈaɪsˌbɜː(r)ɡ] 冰山（浮在海上的巨大冰块）
radar pulses  [ˈreɪdɑː(r)][ˈpʌlsɪz]  雷达脉冲
European Space Agency 欧洲航天局
tape measure [teɪp] 测量尺，卷尺
colossus [kəˈlɒsəs] 庞然大物，巨物
Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling 极地观测和建模中心
mass [mæs]（物理）质量；块，团
break away 脱离，突然离去，断裂
Antarctic coast [æn'tɑ:ktɪk] 南极海岸
tip the scales at 达到…重量
dump [dʌmp] 排放，倾入

🗒️翻译和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复1可加入【打卡交流群】