Buzz
In the past few days, the drifting iceberg A-68a has been causing headaches for scientists as it approaches the South Georgia Island in the southern Atlantic Ocean, which is home to millions of penguins and seals, as well as other wild animals.
As scientists fretted over its proximity to South Georgia Island, which was only about 50 km away by late November - early December, on December 17th, for reasons unknown, a small portion of this iceberg broke off, separating from the main iceberg. According to the ESA (European Space Agency), there might have been a collision between the iceberg and a distant continental shelf, miles away from the South Georgia Island region, causing the phenomenon.Scientists are closely monitoring the movements of this iceberg. They also note that A-68a could either scrape along the edge of the continental shelf or collide directly with the island, but it could also run aground and persist for many months or even years. A-68a also poses a potential threat to the rich ecosystem surrounding South Georgia Island (if a collision occurs) as it would disrupt the seabed, the habitat of mollusks, crustaceans, corals, and other marine creatures.
Here are some other images of iceberg A-68a taken on November 18, 2020
The sea around South Georgia has a temperature of about 4°C, but in the water around the iceberg, the temperature can be several degrees lower. The colder temperature along with the discharge of billions of tons of freshwater into the surrounding area could disrupt the food supply.
The chart records the 'journey' of A-68a since it broke away from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The blue lines represent the paths of other drifting icebergs.Apart from disrupting the ecosystem, if an iceberg gets stuck on a continental shelf, it will block off a vast foraging ground - home to numerous most vulnerable species. While whales can seek alternative feeding grounds, colonies of penguins and large seals cannot venture far from the island to hunt. This could lead to a catastrophic famine for many animal species on South Georgia Island.
