A23a: Giant iceberg on collision course with island

The world’s largest iceberg is on a collision course with a remote British island, possibly endangering penguins and seals.

Himkhand is moving from Antarctica to South Georgia north, a rugged British region and wildlife haven, where it can climb on the ground and break into pieces. It is currently 173 miles (280 km) away.

Countless birds and seals died on icy coves and beaches of South Georgia when previous huge icebergs stopped feeding them.

“Iceberg is naturally dangerous. I would be exceptionally happy if it is completely recalled us,” C captain Simon Valce tells BBC News, speaking from the South Georgia government utensil.

A group of scientists, sailors and fishermen around the world are eagerly examining satellite paintings to monitor the daily movements of this queen of icebergs.

it is Known as A23A And is one of the oldest in the world.

It calmed, or broke in 1986 in Antarctica from the Filchen Ice Shelf, but stuck on Ceflor and then stuck in a ocean vortex.

Finally, in December, it is freed and now on its last trip, rapidly in oblivion.

Warm water north of Antarctica is melting and weakening its vast sides that extends to 1,312ft (400 m), which is longer than the Shard in London.

It was once measured 3,900 sq km, but the latest satellite paintings show that it is slowly decaying. It is now about 3,500 sq km, almost the size of the English County Cornwal.

And large slabs of snow are breaking, drowning in water around its edges.

A23A can break into huge segments on any day, which can then move for years, such as uncontrollable ice -floating cities around South Georgia.

It is not the first huge iceberg to threaten the islands of South Georgia and Sandwich.

In 2004, A38 grounded by A38 on its Continental Shelf, leaving the dead penguin chicks and seal puppies on the beaches because large -scale snowy chunks blocked their reach to the feeding ground.

The region is home to the precious colonies of King Penguin and millions of elephants and fur seals.

Mark Belchier, a marine ecologist who advises the South Georgia government, says, “South Georgia sits in the Himkhand Gali, so the impact for both fishermen and wildlife is expected, and both have a great ability.”

Sailors and fishermen say that iceberg is a growing problem. In 2023, a fear of A76 gave him a fear when it came close to grounding.

“Its pieces were upwards, so they looked like great snow towers, an ice city on the horizon,” Sri Belchier, who looked at the iceberg while living in the sea.

Those slabs are still roaming around the islands.

“This is to pieces the size of your desk from the size of many vambali stadiums, a fishing company working in South Georgia.

“Those pieces basically cover the island – we have to do our work through it,” Captain Wallace.

The sailor should be constantly cautious on his ship. “We have searchlights all night to try to see snow – it can come from anywhere,” they explain.

According to Mr. Pneumon, A76 was a “gamechanger”, “on our operations and keeping our vessel and crew safe”.

All three men describe rapidly changing environment, with glacial retreat year-by-year, and volatile levels of sea ice.

Climate change is unlikely to be behind the birth of A23A because it was quiet long ago, before the high effects of rising temperature we are now seeing.

But huge icebergs are part of our future. Since Antarctica becomes more unstable with warm sea and air temperature, more spacious pieces of ice sheets will be broken.

However, A23A has left a farewell gift for scientists before its time is over.

A team found themselves close to the A23A in 2023 with a British Antarctic survey on Sir David Attenborough Research Vesel.

Scientists took advantage of the rare opportunity to check what mega icebergs do for the environment.

The ship left for a crack in the huge walls of the iceberg, and PhD researcher Laura Taylor collected precious water samples 400 meters away from his rocks.

“I noticed a huge wall of ice is more than me, as far as I could see. It has different colors in different places. The chunks were falling -it was quite spectacular,” she describes from her laboratory in Cambridge where she is now analyzing samples.

His job sees what is the effect of melted water on the carbon cycle in the southern ocean.

“It’s not just water as we drink. It is full of nutrients and chemicals, as well as small animals such as phytoplinkon are frozen inside,” says Ms. Taylor.

As it melts, the iceberg releases the elements in water, which change the physics and chemistry of the sea.

It can store more carbon depths in the ocean, as particles sink from the surface. This will naturally close some of the planet’s carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change.

The iceberg is notorious unpredictable and no one knows what it will actually do next.

But soon the behem should appear, emerging on the horizon of the islands, as large as this region.