• Home
  • World
  • Iceberg “Game of Thrones” Monster threatens Antarctic wildlife

Iceberg “Game of Thrones” Monster threatens Antarctic wildlife

Iceberg “Game of Thrones” Monster threatens Antarctic wildlife

0:00


Paris:

The largest iceberg in the world, more than double the size of London, could be derived to a remote island where a scientist warns that runs the risk of interrupting the feeding of penguins and baby seals.

The gigantic ice wall moves slowly from Antarctica in a potential collision course with South Georgia, a crucial wildlife culture broth in the South Atlantic.

The satellite images suggested that, unlike the previous “megabergs”, this rogue was not falling apart in smaller pieces as the AFP, Andrew Meijers, a physical oceanograph in the British Antarctic survey, to the AFP on Friday, was put into the AFP.

He said that predicting that his exact course was difficult, but the prevailing currents suggested that the colossus would reach the shallow continental platform around Georgia del Sur in two or four weeks.

But what could happen next is a assumption of anyone, he said.

It could avoid the shelf and be taken to open waters beyond Georgia del Sur, a British territory abroad about 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) east of the Falklands islands.

Or I could hit the inclined background and get stuck for months or break in pieces.

Meijers said that this scenario could seriously prevent seals and penguins trying to feed and raise their young on the island.

“Icebergs have been based on the past and that has caused significant mortality to penguin chicks and seal puppies,” he said.

‘White Wall’

Approximately 3,500 square kilometers (1,350 square miles) wide, the largest and oldest iceberg in the world, known as A23a, collected from the Antarctic shelf in 1986.

He remained stuck for more than 30 years before finally freeing himself in 2020, his heavy trip sometimes delayed by the oceanic forces that kept him turning in his place.

Meijers, who found the iceberg face to face while directeding a scientific mission at the end of 2023, described “a huge white cliff, 40 or 50 meters high, which extends from the horizon to the horizon.”

“It’s like this white wall. It is a kind of game of thrones, actually,” he said, referring to the dark fantasy series.

A23A has followed approximately the same path as the previous massive icebergs, passing the east side of the Antarctica Peninsula through the Weddell Sea along a route called “Alley Iceberg”.

Weighing a little less than one billion tons, this freshwater monster block was being carried by the most powerful “jet current” in the world, the Antarctic circumpolar current.

Raul Cordero of the University of Chile of Santiago, who is also part of the National Antarctic Research Committee, said he was confident that the iceberg would avoid South Georgia.

“The island acts as an obstacle to ocean currents and, therefore, generally diverts the water long before it reaches the island,” he said.

“The iceberg moves through that flow of water, so the possibilities of hitting are not so high,” although the pieces could, he said.

Another scientist, the Glaciologist Soledad Tiranti currently on an Argentine exploration trip in Antarctica, said that icebergs such as A23a “are so deep that before reaching an island or continental they generally get stuck” in the sea bed.

Frozen obstacle

It is summer in the south of Georgia and the penguins and the resident seals throughout its southern coast are feeding the frost waters to bring food to gain weight to their young.

“If the iceberg is parked there, it will physically block where they feed, or will have to surround it,” Meijers said.

“That burns a large amount of extra energy for them, so it is less energy for puppies and chicks, which causes greater mortality.”

Seal populations and penguins in South Georgia have already had a “bad season” with an aviar flu outbreak “and (iceberg) worsened significantly,” he said.

As A23a, he finally melted, could sow water with nutrients that encourage the growth of phytoplankton, feeding whales and other species, and allowing scientists to study how such flowers absorb carbon dioxide of the atmosphere.

While icebergs are natural phenomena, Meijers said that the rate they were lost from Antarctica was increasing, probably due to humans induced climate change.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a union feed).


Source link

Releated Posts

France Shocker: Man Murders 11-Year-Old Girl After Losing A Game Of Fortnite – News18

0:00 Last Updated:February 17, 2025, 10:07 IST The suspect was frustrated after losing a game of Fortnite, after…

ByByAmlanFeb 17, 2025

Yulia Navalny Blasts Russia for Concealing the Truth About Alexei’s Deteriorating Health

0:00 The Unmasking of a Tyrant’s Lies: A Tale of Unveiled Truth and Unwavering Resilience In the shadows…

ByByAmlanFeb 17, 2025

Netanyahu Endorses US Plan for Palestinian Relocation from Gaza: Exclusive Path to Success

0:00 Netanyahu Embraces Trump’s Gaza Resettlement Plan On a fateful Sunday in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…

ByByAmlanFeb 17, 2025

Rubio and Musk Back Vance’s Free Speech Stance

0:00 A Clash of Ideals: Rubio and Brennan Spar Over Vance’s Munich Speech Amidst the backdrop of Munich’s…

ByByAmlanFeb 17, 2025
Scroll to Top