The British Air Force recently scouted the world’s largest iceberg and took photos and a short film of it. The 4,200-square-kilometer iceberg is drifting toward the South Atlantic and slowly breaking up.
A transport aircraft from British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI) conducted a reconnaissance mission to observe the iceberg, known as A68a, as it broke up and drifted.
A68a broke off from the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica in 2017 and is now breaking up and drifting toward South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic.
BFSAI shared several photos of A68a taken by its transport aircraft on Facebook, including a clear shot taken during a close flyby, in which one can see how it is breaking up.
A68a was about 200 kilometers away from South Georgia Island when BFSAI’s transport plane was filming it. Scientists say that the giant iceberg could get stuck in shallow water and thus pose a threat to the ecosystem.
British officials are watching to see if A68a can drift across South Georgia. If it gets stuck in shallow water, it could form a barrier and stay for years, making it difficult for the millions of seals, penguins and seabirds that inhabit South Georgia to feed.
A giant iceberg was trapped in shallow water more than a decade ago, resulting in countless dead baby penguins and seals on South Georgia’s beaches.
Another concern is the breakup of A68a, which has broken off small pieces of ice that can drift into the shipping lanes and affect the passage of ships.
Fortunately, there is not much ship traffic around South Georgia Island at the moment. About 80 cruise ships that would normally pass each year are now missing due to the Communist pneumonia (Wuhan pneumonia) epidemic, and local fishing boats have not been out fishing for months.
In addition to aircraft, satellites have been used to track the movement of A68a, as well as the currents and winds that drive it.
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