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A massive iceberg could impact island ecosystems in the southern Atlantic

  • massive iceberg could impact island ecosystems in the southern Atlantic
    Undated handout photo provided by the Ministry of Defense on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020

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A research team is planning a mission to study the potential impact of a floating iceberg as it approaches the South Georgia Island, a British overseas territory in the southern Atlantic, reports Phys.org. An expedition will leave from the Falkland Islands in late January in the ship RRS James Cook. Scientists will use robotic underwater vehicles known as gliders to gather data from the ocean, such as on seawater temperature, salinity and plankton in the water.

When it broke off from the Larsen C ice Shelf in Antarctica more than three years ago, the iceberg, known as A-68, was one of largest icebergs ever recorded. It lost some pieces of ice as it moved north, and the biggest chunk, named A-68A, is now some 4,200 square kilometres, larger than the South Georgia island itself, according to Reuters.


In this undated handout photo provided by the Ministry of Defense, one of the largest recorded icebergs floats near the island of South Georgia, South Atlantic, on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. The British Antarctic Survey says a team of scientists will set off next month on a research mission to find out the impact of a giant floating iceberg on the wildlife and marine life on a sub-Antarctic island. The huge iceberg—the size of the U.S. state of Delaware—is about 75 kilometers (47 miles) from the island of South Georgia, and scientists are concerned over the risks it poses to the wildlife in the area if it grounds near the island. (Corporal Phil Dye/Ministry of Defence via AP)

Researches are worried about the implications of a collision with the island, as well as how freshwater from the melting of the ice would affect the island’s ecosystems. South Georgia is home to a rich wildlife: penguins and seals could be affected during the breeding season, as the ice may get in their way as they travel to find food for their offspring. Moreover, Geraint Tarling, from the British Antarctic Survey, has warned the iceberg may "cause devastation to the sea floor by scouring the seabed communities of sponges, brittle stars, worms and sea-urchins, so decreasing biodiversity".

Scientists’ opinions diverge as to whether climate change is causing larger icebergs to break off the polar ice caps. Only five icebergs larger than A68A have been recorded in the last 34 years. Iceberg monitoring using satellite imagery has only been done in the past few decades and little is known about how ice behaved in the past. What is known is that Antarctica is warming faster than the rest of the globe, with temperatures increasing three times as fast as the global average in the past 30 years. The continent has enough freshwater stored as ice to cause sea levels to rise by 2.5 metres, were it to melt.

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