The world’s largest iceberg – on a collision course with a remote island of Ponguin – works in AGROUND

World the largest and oldest icebergCalled A23A, started in shallow waters near the coast of southern Georgia, a remote island in the southern Atlantic known for its population of penguins and seals of elephants.

“Mega-Berg,” as some call it, an ice tile is extended, which once traveled about 1500 square kilometers, but on its path to the north from Antarctica, it lost about 200 square miles of mass. Either way, the giant of almost trillion tonnes is larger than the state of Rhode Iceland, with high cliffs that peak 1,300 feet at certain points. He dropped from continental Antarctica in 1986 and stuck in the sea of ​​Weddell, where he remained grounded for about three decades, according to the British study of Antarctica, a research group that focused on Polar science. The group has a station in southern Georgia, which is a British territory.

The iceberg looks like a “high wall that comes out of the ocean, which extends from the horizon to the horizon,” said Antarctic British Survey Oceanographer Andrew Meiers in the remarks published by the research group. Meijers studied A23A while on board RSS David Attenborough at the end of 2023.

The A23a began to descend through the southern ocean in 2020, when he was put on a possible collision course with southern Georgia. The iceberg and the island are approximately the same size in square miles. Researchers describe his journey to southern Georgia as winding and intriguing, as the iceberg has outlined a somewhat unexpected path to the island and became trapped last year in a rotating water column that left rotation for months.

At this point, the iceberg seems to be grounded on a shallow continental shelf around South Georgia, settling around 50 miles from the island southwest coast, according to the British research of Antarctica. Meijers, quoting satellite paintings, said he was currently intact. But the iceberg is likely to break into smaller pieces and start melting shortly after, in a process that could interrupt the operation of shipping and disrupt fisheries in the surrounding region.

“Although Berg is large, they are easily avoided by shipping operators in the southern Ocean – who are well aware of the dangers that Bergs poses and the A23A place. However, as it breaks down over time, it is less harder to follow,” Meijers said. “Discussions with fishing operators suggest that the big Berga has been undergoing some regions for some time more or less beyond the boundaries for fishing operations because of the number of smaller ones – and yet often more dangerous – Bergy Bita.”

Meijers said that less concern was due to the effects of A23a on seal and penguins in southern Georgia, although huge parts of ice near the island could prevent their ladies to feed and result in less food and higher mortality rates for pupil and chickens that rely on them.

But the melted iceberg can also bring positive changes to the environment, Meijers added, publishing huge amounts of nutrients in the water that, in turn, could actually increase the population of local predators such as seals and penguins. “

While Meiers noticed that the iceberg like A23A are normal parts of the Antarctic life cycle, Climate change caused by people accelerated the process Over the last few decades. Since 2000, researchers have recorded ice shelves that have lost about 6,000 Gigaton of their Mass, he said. One gigaton It is equal to billion metric tons or £ 2.2 trillion.

“This loss of the mass of ice shelves has significant consequences on the circulation of the ocean due to the addition of fresh water, accelerating the increase in sea levels … and possible non -return” precipitate points “, especially on vulnerable Western Antarctica,” said Meijers. “These are burning and active areas of research in bass -elsewhere.”