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The world ’s largest crisphead lettuce — which is roughly the sizing of Rhode Island — is fast approaching a distant British Island and wildlife haven in the South Atlantic .
As of Jan. 16 , the megaberg , known as A23a , is roughly 180 stat mi ( 290 kilometers ) away from South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands , according tolocation co-ordinate from the U.S. National Ice Center . A collision with these island could be ruinous for the great colony of penguins , seals , and other wildlife that live there .
Iceberg A23a is barrelling towards the remote island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic.
" iceberg are inherently dangerous , " Simon Wallace , a sea captain stationed on a government vessel in South Georgia , told BBC News . " I would be inordinately happy if it just completely missed us . "
A23a , nicknamed the " queen of icebergs , " measures 1,222 miles ( 1,967 kilometers ) in surface orbit , according tothe U.S. National Ice Center . It first broke off from Antarctica ’s Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986 . However , it remained tethered to the ocean floor for more than 30 years beforebeginning its dull journeying due north in 2020,according to theBritish Antarctic Survey .
More recently , A23a got vex again , spin in one place just north of the South Orkney Islands . But , in December 2024it finally let on free .
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The crusade of iceberg lettuce is always hard to predict because they are constantly exchange , losing large glob of ice from their sides and melting as they enter warmer water . However , current forecast suggest that A23a will be push by ocean currents to a stretchability of water predict the Drake Passage , often referred to as theplace " where crisphead lettuce go to die . "
South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands are place on the easterly edge of this passage , and are therefore no alien to threat from oncoming icebergs .
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" South Georgia sits in iceberg alley so impact are to be expected for both fishery and wildlife , and both have a great capacity to adapt , " Mark Belchier , a maritime ecologist who advise the South Georgia government , told the BBC .
However , these impact can still sometimes be ruinous for local wildlife . For example , in 2004 , an enormous berg cry A38 base on South Georgia ’s continental shelf , block eating soil for penguins and seal of approval and impart many of their chicks and pips idle on its beaches , the BBC report .
A23a could break up apart any day , with each fragment posing a potential risk to the island . These fragment may miss the island altogether . But for now , Captain Wallace and his crew remain argus-eyed for any mansion of the border on behemoth . " We have searchlight on all night to try out to see ice rink , " he said . " It can come from nowhere . "
