Since 2020, a huge iceberg of around 3,500 square kilometers, an area equivalent to half of Corsica, has been drifting in the Atlantic. It is now approaching the British island of South Georgia and threatens the wild animals that live there.
A real juggernaut. Icebergs regularly separate from the ice cap that covers Antarctica.
One of them, named A23a, broke away from the Filchner glacier in 1986. Although it remained stuck on the continental shelf until 2020, it has been following a trajectory for four years that takes it further north .
So much so that the ice giant, with an area of 3,500 square kilometers – about half the size of Corsica – is gradually approaching the British island of South Georgia.
A deviation which greatly worries scientists, since if it runs aground there, wild animals living in the territory such as emperor penguins or seals would then be deprived of access to the ocean, where they feed.
-Such a catastrophe already happened in 2004. The iceberg A38 was then stuck against the island, causing the death of dozens of baby penguins on the beaches, the BBC reported.
In the future, these once rare events are likely to increase. The ice sheet covering Antarctica is becoming increasingly unstable due to warming air and ocean temperatures.
