The world’s largest iceberg, A23a, is slowly making its way towards the island of South Georgia, posing potential threats to local wildlife. This massive iceberg, measuring 1.1 million acres in area and weighing about one trillion tonnes, is about 75 times larger than Manhattan. It broke off Antarctica’s Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in 1986 and has been drifting towards South Georgia since 2020.
After being caught in a rotating cylindrical current known as a Taylor Column, A23a finally broke free and is now approximately 180 miles away from South Georgia. When the iceberg eventually breaks up, it could pose hazards to the area’s sparse vessel traffic, primarily fishermen, and obstruct the rugged beaches of South Georgia, home to King penguins and seals. The last megaberg that reached the island in 2023 still affects commercial navigation in the area.
The presence of large ice blocks from the iceberg can make it challenging for penguins and seals to access the water from their breeding grounds on shore. While any impact on wildlife from beach obstructions is expected to be localized and transient, it remains a concern for conservationists and officials in South Georgia. Fishing vessels operating near the island have to navigate around these giant ice blocks, making their journeys to and from fishing grounds more difficult and potentially dangerous.
