Experts have issued a chilling warning about an iceberg the size of a Hawaiian island, which was spotted from space.
The massive A23a – the world’s largest glacial mass – is currently drifting across the Antarctic Ocean, and scientists now report that pools of water can be observed sitting on the ice’s surface, accelerating Antarctica‘s melting beyond expectations.
The enormous iceberg, which towers higher than London’s Shard, has also experienced rapid structural deterioration.
“The potential for abrupt changes is far less understood in the Antarctic compared with the Arctic, but evidence is emerging for rapid, interacting and sometimes self-perpetuating changes in the Antarctic environment,” researchers from the Australian National University stated in a new Nature study report.
Professor Nerilie Abram, the study’s lead author, warns that a collapse would deliver “catastrophic consequences for generations to come.”
She said: “Rapid change has already been detected across Antarctica’s ice, oceans and ecosystems, and this is set to worsen with every fraction of a degree of global warming.”
A23a spans 1,400 square miles – roughly the size of Los Angeles – though it has shrunk considerably since it initially separated from Antarctica in 1986. Massive sections from the iceberg have also been breaking off, crashing into the ocean below for months.
Sea captain Simon Wallace, stationed on the Pharos vessel in South Georgia, expressed his hopes that the looming iceberg would either miss the island or change its course entirely.
Speaking to BBC News, he warned: “Icebergs are inherently dangerous. I would be extraordinarily happy if it just completely missed us.”
If a collision occurs, the colossal ice mass could pose a threat to local wildlife by obstructing their access to vital food sources. South Georgia is currently home to various species of penguins, seals, and sea birds, and serves as a crucial spot for migrating whales.
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Dr. Andrew Meijers, a Physical Oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey, explained why the iceberg is collapsing.
He said: “The iceberg A23a is now moving with the prevailing current towards the island of South Georgia, after having been ‘trapped’ spinning around a submarine mountain for several months further south.
“The iceberg, at least in satellite images, appears to be maintaining its structure and has not yet broken up into smaller chunks, as previous ‘megabergs’ have done.
“It is presently in a meander of the current and not moving directly towards the island, but our understanding of the currents suggest that it is likely to again move towards the island soon. The current follows the shallow continental shelf around the island to the south east.
“But the question is whether the berg will follow this out into the open South Atlantic, or run up onto the shelf and become stuck for some time. If this happens it could seriously impede access to feeding grounds for the wildlife – seals and penguins mostly – that breed on the island.”