It’s rare for a block of this size to move, and if it were to run aground in the shallow waters near southern Georgia Island, it could block wildlife access to food supplies.
L’largest iceberg in the world it moved after 37 years. It first broke away from the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in West Antarctica in 1986 and became stuck at the bottom of the Weddell Sea in the Atlantic Ocean. Now satellite images showed how the iceberg quickly took off Drifts beyond the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. He has already passed the ice shelf Larsen and enters the South Atlantic.
According to scientists, it should now be sneaking along a path known as the iceberg alleybut if it ran aground on the way in front of theIsland in southern Georgia It could spell disaster for local biodiversity, which is why the iceberg is being carefully monitored by experts.
The A23a iceberg
It is the largest iceberg in the world, size A23 4,000 square kilometers and is 400 meters thick. It is slightly smaller than Molise. Experts began to observe the first tentative movements in 2020; in recent years, the size of the iceberg has decreased and it has detached from the seabed. It started moving slowly, now it sped up as it passed Currents and winds.
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What could be the route
As the British Antarctic glaciologist explained Oliver MarshBecause it’s rare for an iceberg of this size to move, scientists will monitor its trajectory. The iceberg could be transported along the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. In this case, he would follow a path that has become known as “iceberg alley.”
“But an iceberg of this size could also survive in the Southern Ocean for some time, even if it is much warmer, and even travel a route further north.” Towards South Africaa, in this case there is a risk of Stop deliveriesMarsh said.
Because it could be a problem
As huge icebergs move across the path, there is a risk of them becoming stuck in the nearby shallow waters to the island of South Georgia. millions of Seals, penguins and seabirds They breed on the island. Should A23a run aground, it would block access to food supplies for fauna. In addition, the passage of the iceberg would destroy the seabed and release large amounts of fresh water, which could alter the chemical-physical balance of the ecosystem.
In 2020 another iceberg, A68, had risked getting stuck on the seabed of South Georgia. Before it reached the island, however, it was broken. Something like that could also happen with A23a. The risks also include possible replacement half-submerged fragmentswhich could hinder the navigation of ships.