enormous icebergscientists call it A23a In 1986, it left the Antarctic coast and began to move through the water. But it quickly ran aground in the Weddell Sea, effectively becoming an ice island.
Iceberg with an area of approximately 3,900 square kilometers Its size exceeds the island of Mallorca (3,640 square kilometers) and is considered the largest in the world.
However, After years of calm serenity, it began to move at high speed and now it’s about to go beyond Antarctic waters.
Almost 40 years later, scientists are wondering why A23a started acting up, but the truth is that they have yet to come to a common answer.
A23a It started moving in 2020, as detected by Antarctic scientists, but the truth is that it has accelerated its movement According to the BBC, the planet, which has been dragged by winds and currents in recent months, is currently passing the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
will end in the South Atlantic
Like most icebergs in the Weddell sector from which it came, A23a almost certainly Antarctica will be thrown into the Circumpolar Current, which will launch it towards the South Atlantic. It’s already on a road known as “iceberg alley”.
This is the same movement of water and accompanying westerly winds that the famous explorer Ernest Shackleton used to escape Antarctica after losing his stranded ship ‘Endurance’ in 1916. ice. .
In fact, over time, All icebergs, no matter how big, are doomed to melt. After entering the Atlantic.
Scientists are closely monitoring the progress of A23a. If it reaches South Georgia, it could cause problems for the millions of seals, penguins and other seabirds that breed on the island. The large volume of A23a can alter the animals’ normal feeding pathways, threatening the survival of offspring.
Now these large floating frozen masses also play a positive role in the environment. As these great icebergs melt They release mineral dust that is mixed into the ice that is part of the glaciers It passed over the bedrock of Antarctica. This dust turned out to be a food source for organisms that form the basis of ocean food chains.
“These icebergs are life-giving in so many ways; “They are the starting point for many biological activities.”Catherine Walker of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who was born the same year as A23a, told the BBC: “I identify with her; she was always there for me.”
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