Iceberg A23A, also known as the largest iceberg of land, drifts to the remote island of South George in the South Atlantic. Researchers believe that a gigantic block of ice can be aged in shallow water, as a result of which the feeding of penguins and seals living on the island will be disturbed, Science Alert writes.
Scientists closely monitor the movement of a giant iceberg weighing almost trillion tons. Since the iceberg A23A began to move slowly in 2020, he mainly remained untouched. But now the scientists have noticed that the largest iceberg on the planet lost a huge piece of about 19 kilometers long.
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According to Andrew Meyers from the British Antarctic Service, who monitors the movement of the A23A, the loss of an iceberg piece may actually be the first sign that the giant from Antarctica began to crumble. The glaciologist Soledad Tiranti also confirmed that the largest iceberg of land had lost a piece.
Scientists note that the area of \u200b\u200ba jagged piece is about 80 square kilometers - this is a huge area in itself, but only a small part of the gigantic block of ice about 3,360 square kilometers.
Meyers said that the icebergs were full of deep cracks, and although this monumental sample decreased eventually and lost a much smaller piece, it " The researchers believe that the ranging of an iceberg piece is the first sign that cracks in a giant block of ice begin to break up.
History shows that in the past other huge icebergs broke up relatively quickly: it took only a few weeks after they began to lose large pieces. However, scientists admit - it is still incomprehensible whether this charm will become the end of the largest iceberg of the Earth or it was only a "
It should be noted that the iceberg A23A broke away from the Antarctica shelf in 1986: he remained motionless for more than 30 years before he began to drift in 2020, but his journey to the north was sometimes restrained by the forces of the oceans, who held him on the spot. Then the giant iceberg fascinated the most powerful “jet current” in the world, also known as the Antarctic circumpolar current.
Today, the trajectory of the movement of the largest iceberg of the Earth, probably leads it towards South George - the most important place of feeding seals and penguins. According to Mayers, despite the offices of such a huge piece of trajectory of the giant iceberg, it is unlikely to change dramatically.
But if he collapses even more, he will represent a “much smaller threat to wildlife”, since animals seeking food will be able to unhinderly maneuver between smaller blocks in search of food, he added.
Tiranti said that the iceberg is expected to continue to move north, but his exact course largely depends on how the local currents affect his movements.
Previously, Focus wrote that the largest iceberg in the world will inevitably collide with the islands.