CNN
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The world’s largest iceberg is still moving and there are fears that it may move northwards from Antarctica towards the island of South Georgia.
According to British Antarctic Survey physical oceanographer Andrew Majors, the iceberg, called A23a, had previously been “stuck” orbiting the seamount for several months.
Now, it appears to be moving with the current towards South Georgia, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic.
“It is currently in the flow of the current and is not moving directly toward the island,” Majors said in a statement sent to CNN on Thursday. “But our understanding of the currents suggests that it is likely to move towards the island again soon.”
“Icebergs are inherently dangerous. I would be incredibly happy if it missed us completely,” said sea captain Simon Wallace, who Talked to the BBC. From the state ship Pharos of South Georgia.
“We have searchlights on all night to try to spot the snow — it can come from anywhere,” Wallace added.
According to measurements updated by , the iceberg is the largest in the world. US National Ice Center earlier this month.
Covering an area of 3,672 square kilometers (1,418-square miles) when measured in August – slightly larger than Rhode Island and more than twice the size of London – the A23a iceberg has been carefully tracked by scientists since it Is in foal from Fletcher. Rooney Ice Shelf in 1986.
It languished on the floor of the Antarctic Weddell Sea for more than 30 years, probably until it shrank enough to loosen its grip on the seafloor.
Afterward, the iceberg is swept away by ocean currents before it becomes trapped again in the Taylor column — the name given to the swirling eddies of water created by ocean currents hitting the underwater mountain. It happens.
In December, the iceberg broke free. Initially, scientists said they expected it to continue moving along ocean currents and into warmer water.
At the time, the British Antarctic Survey said the iceberg would likely break up and eventually melt when it reached the remote island of South Georgia.
But for now, at least in satellite images, the iceberg appears to have retained its structure and has yet to break into smaller pieces, as previous “megabergs” have done, Majors said.
It is now a question of whether the iceberg will follow the current and move into the open South Atlantic or whether it will run to the continental shelf where it will be stuck for some time.
“If that happens, it could seriously impede access to feeding grounds for the wildlife — mostly seals and penguins — that breed on the island,” Majors said.
Meanwhile, Mark Belchier, director of fisheries and environment for the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, told CNN on Thursday that he was keeping a close eye on the iceberg’s track. “While they are common in South Georgia, they can cause problems for shipping and fishing vessels in the region,” Belchier added.
Belchier said potential impacts to wildlife would be “very localized and temporary.”
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands have a rich biodiversity and are one of the largest marine protected areas in the world.
Scientists have said that this particular iceberg probably broke off as part of the natural growth of the ice shelf and not because of a fossil fuel-driven climate crisis. But global warming is going on. Alarming changes in Antarctica, with potentially catastrophic consequences of global sea-level rise.
