The largest iceberg of the world A23a settled agility in the southern part of the Atlantic. According to scientists, an ice building with an area of more than six times larger than Warsaw will fall into smaller blocks in the near future. The event can also contribute to the bloom of life in the ocean.
In 1986, the A23A tone weighing over a trillion, she disconnected from the Filchner -Ronne shelf glacier and remained at the bottom of the Weddel sea for about 30 years. From 2020, she drifted with the currents of the South Ocean towards South Georgia. On Saturday – as the scientists informed – a huge ice cover settled in the southern part of the Atlantic, near the overseas British island of South Georgia.
According to scientists, warmer waters, as well as the operation of waves and tides will lead to the fact that a large part of the ice will fall apart into smaller icebergs and ultimately melt.
– From a scientific point of view, we are curious how the iceberg will affect the local ecosystem – said Dr. Andrew Meijers, an oceanographer from British Antarctic Survey.
“Dropping a nutritional bomb in the center of the desert”
Experts from British Antarctic Survey (bass) say that the melting of an ice of an object with an area of approx. 3234 square kilometers, i.e. more than six times larger than Warsaw (517 square kilometers), will release a huge amount of nutrients. This, in turn, can lead to the development of life in the ocean. The symptom of this will be a huge flourishing of phytoplankton around the mountain, which should be visible in satellite photos as a green “glow” around ice. Professor Nadine Johnston from the bass compared this situation to “shedding a nourishing bomb in the center of the desert.”
Scientists are not sure if the collapse of the mountain will have a positive or negative impact on fauna in the region.
– It is unlikely that seal and penguins populations in southern Georgia suffer from the breakdown of the mountain. It can potentially interrupt their path to feeding sites and force adults to use more energy to move around it (…) This may also have a positive aspect – if the iceberg stimulates the productivity of the oceans, it can actually increase the population of local predators, such as seals and penguins – added Dr. Meijers.
Representatives of the hunting industry are afraid that ice can block the ports or hinder the sailing when the fishing season begins in April. In previous years, the icebergs of icebergs prevented fishing in some areas.
Ice mountain A23A, satellite photo from 31.01.2025NASA Worldview
Source of the main photo: Adobe Stock – Review photo