A23a, the trillion-ton iceberg, is now posing a threat to countless marine animals.
Located 80 kilometers from the small British overseas territory of South Georgia, which is inhabited by millions of penguins, seals, and other marine creatures, A23a is the largest iceberg globally.
Even finding the iceberg can be a challenge.
“The South Georgia and South Sandwich Maritime Zone is expansive, covering 1.2 million square kilometers of ocean – a vast area,” stated Laura Sinclair Willis, the Chief Executive of South Georgia.
But A23a isn’t small either.
It’s almost four times the size of Canberra – at more than 3100 square kilometres.
It’s nearly 300 metres tall and it weighs around one trillion tonnes.
There are concerns the melting ice could force the food for millions of marine animals deeper underwater.
The megaberg’s movements, a reminder of Antarctica’s rapidly melting ice are caused by global warming.
In 1986, A23a broke off from Antarctica but remained aground in the Weddell Sea until 2020 when it started moving north.
Five years on, the huge slab of ice has, for now, stopped in its tracks.
