Wall of ice the size of Rhode Island heading toward penguin-packed island off Antarctica
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The world's biggest iceberg — a wall of ice the size of Rhode Island — is lumbering toward a remote island off Antarctica that's home to millions of penguins and seals. The trillion-ton slab of ice — called a megaberg — could slam into South Georgia Island and get stuck or be guided around it by currents. If it gets stuck it could make it hard for penguin parents to feed their babies and some young could even starve. Overall, however, researchers aren't too worried about major harm from the iceberg, named A23a.
What's happening is more spectacular than dangerous, scientists said. It's also a natural process happening more frequently because of human-caused climate change, said British Antarctic Survey physical oceanographer Andrew Meijers, who examined the iceberg up close in December 2023 when it drifted past the research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough.
“The iceberg itself is colossal and it stretches from horizon to horizon,” Meijers said Thursday of the 130-foot (40-meter) tall mass. "It’s a huge wall, a Game of Thrones style wall of ice that towers above the ship. With some waves breaking against it and if you get a bit of sunshine coming through, it’s really dramatic.".
For every bit of the iceberg above the water's surface, there's ten times more below, Meijers said. It's not exactly high-speed action. The iceberg is making its way at a glacial pace of one meter every three to seven seconds, much slower than one mile per hour, Meijers said.
