Antarctic iceberg A68 becomes cause for concern for South Georgia Island
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Environment
In news
The giant Antarctic iceberg A68 has become a cause for concern for South Georgia Island.
Key takeaways
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.
In 2020, 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.
Do you know?
South Georgia is an island in the southern Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI).
The main settlement is Grytviken.
The US National Ice Center (USNIC) is responsible for naming icebergs, which are named according to the Antarctic quadrant in which they are spotted.
