Visible from space, a mega iceberg could be on a collision course

Visible from space, the world’s largest iceberg is headed towards a remote Antarctic island, threatening local animals.

A23a, the trillion-ton megaberg, which is 40 meters tall, twice as broad as London, and viewable through satellites, could either collide with the island of South Georgia, or get trapped in ocean currents revolving around it. Past iceberg collisions on the island, which is home to King penguins and about half of the world’s population of Southern elephant seals, have led to mass animal deaths due to starvation.

A23a first broke off from Antarctica’s Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986, when it measured around 3,900 square kilometers, and some of its sides extended up to 400 meters tall. The warming of waters near Antarctica have been shrinking it slowly, and scientists expect it to eventually break into multiple vast pieces.