A23a: Giant iceberg colliding with island

The world’s largest iceberg is on a collision course with a remote British island, potentially putting penguins and seals in danger.

Icebergs swirl north from Antarctica to southern Georgia, a fortified British territory and wildlife haven that can be ground to smithereens. Currently 173 miles (280 kilometers) away.

When giant icebergs stopped feeding in the past, countless birds and seals died on south Georgia’s icy bays and beaches.

Sea captain Simon Wallace told BBC News, speaking aboard the South Georgia government ship Pharos: “Icebergs are inherently dangerous. If we were missed at all, I would Very happy.”

Around the world, groups of scientists, sailors and fishermen are anxiously examining satellite images to monitor the iceberg queen’s daily movements.

This is Called A23a It is one of the oldest in the world.

It was created or broken off from Antarctica’s Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986 but became trapped on the seafloor and then trapped in ocean eddies.

Finally, in December, it set free and is now on its final journey, falling into oblivion.

The warm waters north of Antarctica are melting and weakening its broad sides, which extend to 1,312 feet (400m), taller than London’s debris.

It once covered 3,900 square kilometres, but the latest satellite images show it is slowly decaying. It is now approximately 3,500 square kilometres, about the size of the English county of Cornwall.

Large chunks of ice are breaking off, sinking into the water around the edge.

The A23A might break into a wide segment every day, and then might linger for years, like a floating Ice City cruise uncontrollably around southern Georgia.

This is not the first giant iceberg to threaten southern Georgia and the Sandwich Islands.

In 2004, one called A38 stuck on its continental shelf, leaving dead penguin chicks and seal pups on the beach because large ice blocks prevented their access to breeding grounds.

The territory is home to a prized colony of king penguins, as well as millions of elephants and seals.

“South Georgia sits on Iceberg Alley, so the impacts on fisheries and wildlife will all be felt, and both have a lot of capacity to adapt,” said Mark Belchier, a marine ecologist with the South Georgia Government )explain.

Sailors and fishermen say icebergs are a growing problem. In 2023, one called A76 strikes fear into their hearts as it approaches the ground.

“Part of it is tipping over, so they look like a serac, a city of ice,” Belchier said.

These slabs still roam the island today.

“It’s anything from the size of a couple of Wembley stadiums to the size of a table,” said Andrew Newman of Argos Froyanes, a fishing company working in south Georgia.

Captain Wallace said: “These items basically cover the island – we have to work our way through it.”

The sailors on his ship must be constantly vigilant. “We have searchlights all night long trying to see the ice – it can be everywhere,” he explained.

According to Mr Newman, the A76 is a “gamechanger” and has a “significant impact on our operations and ensuring the safety of our ships and crews”.

All three described a rapidly changing environment, with familiar glacial retreats visible year by year and the evaporation of sea ice.

Climate change is unlikely to be behind A23a’s birth, as it calmed down long ago, before many of the effects of rising temperatures we see now.

But giant icebergs are part of our future. As ocean and air temperatures in Antarctica become more unstable, more ice sheets will break up.

Before it ended, though, A23A left scientists with a parting gift.

A team aboard the British Antarctic research vessel Sir David Attenborough found themselves close to the A23A in 2023.

Scientists are rushing to take advantage of a rare opportunity to investigate the environmental impact of giant icebergs.

The ship sailed into a crack in the iceberg’s massive wall, and PhD researcher Laura Taylor collected precious water samples 400m away from the cliff.

“As far as I know, I saw a wall of ice that was taller than me. It was different colors in different places. Chunks were falling off – it was magnificent,” she explained from her lab in Cambridge, where she analyzed samples.

Her work looks at the impact of meltwater on the carbon cycle in the Southern Ocean.

“It’s not just water like we drink. It’s full of nutrients and chemicals and like little animals floating in it,” Ms Taylor said.

When icebergs melt, they release these elements into the water, changing the physics and chemistry of the ocean.

As the particles sink from the surface, more carbon can be stored in the ocean. This naturally locks in some of the planet’s carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change.

Icebergs are unpredictable and no one knows what will happen next.

But soon a behemoth should appear, looming over the horizon of the island, as large as the territory itself.