The world’s largest iceberg could collide with …

the The world’s largest iceberg is about to collide with San Pedro Island the archipelago of South Georgia. Known as A68a, the mass of floating ice spans 4,200 square kilometers of floating ice.

The ice giant of Antarctica is similar in size to the Argentinian island occupied by the British in the South Atlantic. There is a great possibility that the iceberg will run aground off the coast of this island, considered a wildlife refuge.

If this happens, it represents a serious threat to local seals and penguins. The animals’ normal feeding routes could be blocked, preventing them from properly feeding their young.

“Ecosystems can and will recover, of course, but there is a risk that if this iceberg gets stuck, could be there for 10 years“Professor Geraint Tarling of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) told the BBC.” And that would make a big difference, not only to South Georgia’s ecosystem, but to its economy as well. “

South Georgia, as the British call this island, is a kind of graveyard for Antarctica’s largest icebergs. The A68 has been traversing the so-called “Iceberg Alley” since its liberation from the Antarctic continent in mid-2017.. It is only a few hundred kilometers south-west of the island.

This iceberg weighs hundreds of billions of tonnes and its surface is equivalent to that of the metropolis of Madrid. Its submerged depth may be 200 meters or less and due to its thinness it has the potential to make it to the coast of San Pedro before being trapped on the seabed.

“A nearby iceberg has massive implications for where terrestrial predators might feed,” Prof Tarling explained. “When you talk about penguins and seals during the time that is really crucial for them, when raising the young and the chicks, the actual distance they have to travel to find food (fish and krill) really matters. . detour, this means that they will not return with their young in time to prevent them from starving in the meantime. “

Although satellite imagery suggests the A68a is on a direct path to San Pedro, it could still head in another direction. “The currents should take him in what looks like a strange loop around the southern tip of South Georgia, before spinning him along the edge of the continental shelf and back to the northwest. But he’s very hard to say precisely what will happen. ” BAS mapping and remote sensing specialist Peter Fretwell told BBC News.

“A68 is spectacular,” said colleague Andrew Fleming. “The idea that it’s still in one piece is really remarkable, especially given the huge fractures you see going through the radar images. I was hoping it would have broken by now,” he explained. . He also said that “if it circles around South Georgia and heading north it should start to collapse. It will hit warmer waters very quickly and wave action, in particular, will start to collapse. wash. “