Iceberg A-81 has traveled from Antarctica into the South Atlantic, reaching waters near the remote island of South Georgia after more than three years drifting through the Weddell Sea.

A NASA Terra satellite image taken October 20 shows the huge iceberg southwest of the island. NASA reported that its progress had slowed in the days before the image, as it appeared to bump along the edge of South Georgia’s underwater shelf. The image is a dated satellite observation, not a live position report.

A-81 broke away from the Brunt Ice Shelf in January 2023. It reached the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula by May 2026 before moving north into the Scotia Sea. South Georgia’s underwater shelf has slowed or grounded other large icebergs, including A-23A in 2025.

Source: NASA Earth Observatory. Image: NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview.