(toSkanews) – is more than 80 kilometers long and has an extension twice London the largest iceberg in the world that is slowly moving to the southern Atlantic Ocean from Antarctica to the South Georgia. The potential collision of the gigantic ice wall, called A23a, with the British archipelago threatens a crucial reproduction area for wildlife in the southern Atlantic.
“It is melting and when these icebergs melt, in the end many fracture in many, many smaller icebergs and, at that point, melt relatively quickly – explained Andrew Meijers, a physical oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey -. If they are a rail, it could be a big problem for the seals and penguins in reproduction because it would hinder their path towards the power areas, which means that there could be an increase in mortality in the chicks and puppies that are currently nourished by their parents “.
Seeing the iceberg live is an impressive show. «I was on a mission when we met him in 2023. And it’s incredibly impressive. It is a 40 -meter high wall that extends from one horizon to another. In reality it is really difficult to get an idea of how big it is. But it’s a phenomenal thing to see, “explained the scientist.
The icebergs are made up of glacier ice and therefore mostly from fresh water. When they melt they can create several problems. “This iceberg is roughly a trillion of tons of fresh water, which can have a truly significant local effect both on oceanography, physics and biology and biogeochemistry. On a wider scale, however, we know that the dissolution of the Antarctic ice platforms is substantially allowing a greater amount of ice on the Antarctic continent to flow to the oceans, which increases the levels of the sea. So, the greatest uncertainty for the future levels of the sea is actually what will happen in Antarctica, “concluded Meijers.
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