A giant iceberg that broke away from Antarctica in the 1980s could soon hit a small British island, threatening its very rich biodiversity.
A drifting ice monster. The world's largest iceberg is heading straight for the British island of South Georgia where scientists fear it could threaten local wildlife, reports the BBC.
With a size of 3,800 km² – the approximate surface area of Tarn-et-Garonne – and a thickness of 400 meters, this immense block of ice broke away from Antarctica in 1986.
Named A23a, it began to arrive north in 2020, before being caught in a vortex which caused it to spin around. It broke free last December and resumed its course towards the north.
Endangered animals
The iceberg is now heading towards the British island of South Georgia, a wild and mountainous territory serving as a refuge for millions of birds, penguins and seals. It has about 280 km to go before making landfall.
-However, according to the BBC, countless animals already died in 2004 in the coves and on the frozen beaches of South Georgia when another giant iceberg, the A38, prevented them from feeding.
“Icebergs are inherently dangerous. I would be extraordinarily happy if they missed us completely,” Simon Wallace, captain of a South Georgia government ship, told the British channel.
The BBC points out that the behavior of icebergs is unpredictable, and that it is difficult to predict in which direction and at what speed they will move once free in the ocean.
