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The world’s largest iceberg is on a collision course with vital penguin sanctuary
After breaking free in December, it’s now traveling along the Antarctic circumpolar current. “It’s the strongest current on Earth,” says Meijers.
“It’s going to head more or less straight towards [South Georgia],” says Meijers. This wildlife haven is home to fur seals, albatrosses, gentoo penguins, and more.
On its current trajectory, A23a will reach a sharp turn in the current. “The iceberg weighs a trillion tons so it’s not turning on a dime,” he says. If it overshoots, it could run aground in shallow waters until it melts enough to keep moving or break up. “It’s anyone’s guess what it might do,” he says.
The threat to South Georgia’s wildlife
Grounding near the shallow continental shelf close to South Georgia could block off routes between feeding and breeding areas for many penguin and seal colonies. This disruption “forces the adults to swim further, burn more energy and, basically, bring back less,” says Meijers, resulting in higher mortality and potentially worsening the impact of bird flu on both seals and penguins
Timing is important. “In October, the penguins decide where they’re going to nest,” says Maria Vernet, a marine ecologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. An enormous, steep iceberg that’s “more like an apartment building,” is a bigger threat when the eggs and chicks are in the nest and utterly dependent on their parents.
In a concerning turn of events, the world’s largest iceberg is currently on a collision course with a vital penguin sanctuary. The iceberg, known as A68a, broke off from the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica in 2017 and has been drifting towards the South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic Ocean.
The sanctuary, home to over 1.5 million penguins, is at risk of being severely impacted by the collision. The iceberg, which is roughly the size of the island itself, could disrupt the penguins’ habitat, block their access to food sources, and potentially cause widespread devastation to the population.
Scientists and conservationists are closely monitoring the situation and are exploring potential solutions to mitigate the impact of the collision. However, the sheer size and trajectory of the iceberg make it a challenging and urgent situation.
Efforts are being made to track the movement of the iceberg and assess the potential risks to the penguin sanctuary. It is crucial that immediate action is taken to protect this vital ecosystem and ensure the safety and well-being of the penguin population. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.
Tags:
- World’s largest iceberg
- Collision course
- Penguin sanctuary
- Climate change
- Environmental impact
- Antarctic iceberg
- Wildlife preservation
- Global warming
- Iceberg collision
- Environmental crisis
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