giant iceberg A68a.
The 3,900-sq-km behemoth is currently drifting offshore of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia where it threatens to run aground.
If that happens it could make life extremely difficult for the wildlife haven s penguins and seals as they go about foraging for fish and krill.
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) will lead the expedition.
The researchers will approach A68a in the Royal Research Ship James Cook.
They ll use robotic underwater vehicles and sampling instruments to see how the frozen mass is influencing its environment.
Big bergs change the temperature of the sea around them and introduce huge volumes of fresh water as they melt. This affects conditions for all marine life - from the simplest planktonic organisms all the way up to the biggest creatures in the ocean, the whales.
South Georgia is home to colonies of tens of thousands of penguins and six million fur seals, which could be threatened by the iceberg during their breeding season. The waters near the island are also one of the world’s largest marine protected areas and are home to
more marine species than the Galapagos Islands.
The research ship
James Cook is expected to depart from the Falkland Islands for the iceberg in late January. Two underwater robotic gliders will be used by
the scientists
and spend several months collecting data to help investigate the impact of freshwater from the melting ice on the region.
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Delaware-sized iceberg threatens island, wildlife
Itâs less than 50 miles from the island of South Georgia
British science mission to Delaware-sized A-68a iceberg By Associated Press | December 15, 2020 at 6:00 AM HST - Updated December 15 at 6:00 AM
LONDON (AP) â A team of scientists will set off next month on a research mission to find out the impact of a giant floating iceberg on the wildlife and marine life on a sub-Antarctic island, the British Antarctic Survey said Tuesday.
The huge iceberg the size of the U.S. state of Delaware has been floating north since it broke away from Antarcticaâs Larsen C ice shelf in 2017. It is now about 75 kilometers (47 miles) from the island of South Georgia.