ICEBERG A68

Dec. 28, 2020

The giant Antarctic iceberg A68a has become a cause for concern for South Georgia Island.

About:

  • The giant iceberg A68, the biggest block of free-floating ice from Antarctica with an area of about 5,800 sq. km, has been drifting in the Atlantic Ocean since 2017.

  • This year, due to an ocean current, the iceberg was propelled into the South Atlantic Ocean and since then it has been drifting towards the remote sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, which is a British Overseas Territory (BOT).

  • This has prompted fears about the impact the iceberg could have on the island’s abundant wildlife.

  • Icebergs travel with ocean currents and either get caught up in shallow waters or ground themselves.

  • Recently, US National Ice Center (USNIC) confirmed that two new icebergs calved from A68a and were large enough to be named and tracked. They are called A68E and A68F.