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After month on the move , the world ’s largest iceberg lettuce , A23a , has scat aground off the remote British island of South Georgia , representatives from the British Antarctic Survey ( BAS ) reported on Tuesday ( Mar. 4 ) .
The megaberg , which is roughly the sizing of Rhode Island , strike shallow waters 50 miles ( 80 kilometer ) from the South Atlantic wildlife haven , theBBC theme , and investigator are keenly note what it will do next .
" In the last few decades , the many icebergs that end up taking this itinerary through the Southern Ocean soon break up up , disperse and melt,“Andrew Meijers , an oceanographer at the BAS , said ina statement . " It will be interesting to see what will happen now . "
A23a , nicknamed the " queen of iceberg , " first broke off from Antarctica ’s Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986 . However , it remained tethered to the seabed for more than three decades before it in the end began to break free in 2020 , according to theBAS .
In 2024 , the glacial giant then got stick again , spinning in one spotlight for several months just north of the South Orkney Island . But in December 2024it broke free once moreand continued its journeying northwards .
When A23a ’s flight towards South Georgiafirst became apparent in January , expert feared a hit could be catastrophic for the big colonies ofpenguins , sealsand other marine wildlife that live there .
Related:45 - nautical mile - farseeing iceberg slams into penguin resort in Antarctica , almost causing ecologic disaster
If the megaberg stay grounded , Meijers enjoin it is improbable to pose a meaning scourge to the local wildlife . But if it moves nigher to the island or breach apart , " it could interrupt their footpath to feed sites and pull the grownup to use more energy to travel around it , " he said . " This could reduce the amount of food coming back to pups and skirt on the island , and so increase fatality rate . "
Similar fears were raised in 2020 , when the premature world ’s turgid iceberg , A68a , cameperilously close to prime right next to South Georgiabefore it was eventuallyripped asunder into many smaller piecesby sea currents .
However , there could also be an upside to the recent crisphead lettuce earthing : " If the berg is excite sea productiveness , this could actually boost population of local predatory animal like seals and penguins , " Meijers allege .
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As well as stirring up nutrient from the ocean floor , megabergs also turn back a vast amount of food lock off in their ice . " It ’s like dropping a nutrient bomb into the eye of an empty desert,“Nadine Johnston , a marine ecologist at the British Antarctic Survey , told BBC .
However , Meijers added that , as the berg disintegrates , it might pose a threat to local navy man and fisher . " commercial-grade fisheries have been disrupted in the past however , and as the berg die into small pieces , this might make sportfishing operations in the area both more hard and potentially hazardous . "
BAS will continue to monitor the effects of this iceberg on the surrounding ecosystem .
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