The world's largest iceberg is floating toward South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Scientists fear the iceberg could crash into the island and block major feeding areas for a large population of penguins and seals. If the iceberg hits the island, it could prevent the penguins and seals from reaching food supplies.
The huge iceberg is named A68a. It broke away from Antarctica's Larsen C Ice Shelf in 2017. Satellite images show the iceberg has remained in one piece. It is estimated to be about 150 kilometers long and 48 kilometers wide. It is traveling at one kilometer per hour and is on a path to hit South Georgia in around 30 days.
This is the time of year when seals and penguins spend a lot of time caring for their young. The distance that parents have to travel to find food is crucial. That means they have to go a lot further or go around the iceberg to find sources of food.
Ecologists say an iceberg crash would also disturb materials settled on the seabed, possibly polluting the surrounding seas. As the iceberg melts, it would also release large amounts of fresh water into the ocean. This could affect krill (磷虾) populations that are a major source of food for the island's wildlife. The iceberg could remain for up to 10 years and change the area's whole ecosystem. These are globally significant populations of these species. If these species fail in this particular area, then the numbers globally are going to go down quite dramatically.
Professor Geraint Tarling, an ecologist at the British Antarctic Survey, said, "The breaking off of icebergs from Antarctica is a natural process. But the process is changing with climate change. What we're seeing with models and some observations now is that this is happening at an increasing rate. And so, this might become more of a usual thing in the future."
