Saturday, January 25

The world's largest iceberg is on track to run aground near the British-controlled island of South Georgia, possibly causing an environmental disaster that would wipe out thousands of seals and penguins.

A23a, the largest iceberg in the world, broke off from Antarctica's Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986 before getting stuck on the seafloor soon after. It further trapped itself by getting stuck in a Taylor column, which is where water above a seamount spins in circles, having the effect of some sort of massive whirlpool. However, in 2020, the iceberg finally set itself free from the waters of the Weddell Sea, beginning to drift away from Antarctica.

The iceberg is over 1,500 square miles in size, which is double that of Greater London -- around the same area as the US state of Rhode Island -- and it weighs over one trillion tons. Now, it is heading into warmer waters, but that path could lead straight into South Georgia.

South Georgia is part of the British territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which is located in the middle of the southern Atlantic. Due to its remote location -- the nearest land is the Falkland Islands, which are over 870 miles away, and there is no airport -- it is extremely hard to get to the island, but it has a staggering amount of wildlife.

The island itself has no native species, but the marine ecosystem around it is incredibly biodiverse. It is nicknamed the "Galapagos of the Southern Ocean," and just the island alone is home to over 60 million breeding birds of over 30 different species and over five million seals of four different species. There are also over 450,000 pairs of king penguins (around 50% of the world's population), over 3 million macaroni penguins, over 100,000 pairs of gentoo penguins, and around 6,000 pairs of chinstrap penguins. During the peak of breeding season, one specific area in South Georgia between Elsehul Bay and Salisbury Plain has been confirmed to have more wildlife per square foot than anywhere else on earth.

Now, those animals could be at risk as A23a sets its sights on South Georgia. Numerous icebergs have come on that path towards South Georgia, but most of them break apart as they enter warmer waters. However, A23a seems to be staying strong, meaning that it could run aground. It could move with other currents and miss the island completely, but there is still a significant chance that it could hit the seafloor near the island and become stuck.

This would have a major impact on the local wildlife, which depend on the waters off the coast for food. Currently, the island is in summer, which is breeding season for the local wildlife. During breeding season, millions of penguins and seals dive into the waters to fetch food for their young, but A23a could impede those efforts. If the iceberg runs aground, it would block the path of the animals, forcing them to travel around the iceberg for food. This could devastate the population, as the obstacle of the iceberg would force them to take much longer to fetch food and would require the animals venturing out to expend significantly more energy.

Unfortunately, events like this will only become more common as larger icebergs begin to break off more frequently from the Antarctic ice sheet due to rapidly increasing climate change. Scientists are currently predicting a catastrophic decline of the ice sheet after 2100 if global emissions keep up their current pace, causing a total sea level rise of over 5.5 feet by 2200-- and that number could go even higher if emissions increase in the next few decades.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Scientists believe that there are more than three billion base pairs of DNA in human genes and more than 20,000 protein-coding genes in the human genome. An entire copy of that genome exists in each of the 30 to 40 trillion cells in the human body.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Take a close look at today, because yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is barely a vision. (Sanskrit Proverb)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Divers (adj, DYE-verz) - Divers is an adjective meaning "numbering more than one."

In a Sentence: The tri-county fair offers divers amusements for the whole family.