The A68 iceberg's three-year calamity spilled 1 trillion metric tons of water into the ocean.

 

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The effects on the local environment may not be felt for several years.

The world's largest iceberg released incredible meltwater into the ocean as it broke off the Antarctic Peninsula in July 2017. A new study revealed how much water the iceberg A68a lost and how that could have a long-term influence on the local environment.

Five satellites were used to track the iceberg's progress northward across Antarctica's Weddell Sea and into the Scotia Sea, where the water is considerably warmer. Iceberg A68a lost 152 billion tons (138 billion metric tons) of fresh water in just three months, the equivalent of more than 60 million Olympic-sized swimming pools' worth of water, according to the study's authors, as the berg appeared to be heading for a direct collision with South Georgia island.

Anne Braakmann-Folgga, the lead author of the new study, said that the next step is to find out if this meltwater has a beneficial or harmful impact on the environment around South Georgia. Due to A68a's regular journey via the Drake Passage, scientists seek to discover what the polar oceans can learn from similarly-behaving icebergs.

Iceberg A68a, which broke off the Larsen-C ice shelf in northern Antarctica in July 2017, was about the size of the five boroughs of New York City five times over when it broke off. For the duration of its 3.5-year life span, the berg was the largest iceberg ever observed on Earth and the largest iceberg ever observed in the ocean.

Two years later, A68a made its way north through the frigid Weddell Sea at a snail's pace. According to the researchers, the iceberg scarcely melted and lost volume throughout this time.

Mass-loss began in the Scotia Sea, where A68a had moved north. In those conditions, the melting rate of the iceberg accelerated by approximately eightfold due to the relatively warm waves lapping at the iceberg's base and margins. It was estimated that the iceberg lost 150 billion tons of ice (136 million metric tons) in the three months from November 2020 to January 2021.

South Georgia Island, a British overseas territory home to enormous penguin and seal populations, was the target of scientists' fears. Live Science stated that some animals might have been crushed to death in the accident, while others may have lost access to their usual eating and foraging paths.

It's a good thing A68a didn't come close to hitting the island, but recent research suggests it was dangerously close. There was a brief collision between A68a and the seafloor near South Georgia, but the iceberg didn't become lodged because it had thinned so much. By the end of December 2020, the iceberg had begun to disintegrate, minimizing the threat to South Georgia's wildlife.

Iceberg A68a had fully melted away by April 2021. Over three years, the frosty object lost 1 trillion tons of ice (900 million tons).

The iceberg's effects on South Georgia Island and the surrounding sea life may continue even after it has melted into the ocean. Nutrients that could promote biological output and modify the types of plankton that flourish in the salty sea around the island were also deposited by A68a. Researchers say this spike could have a wide-ranging effect on the local food chain, but it's not yet clear if that will be beneficial or detrimental in the long term.

Remote Sensing of Environment, which will publish the findings on March 1st, has accepted the paper for publication.

Reference : https://www.livescience.com/worlds-largest-iceberg-dumped-150-billion-tons

Image source : https://pixabay.com/id/vectors/gunung-es-iceburg-es-gletser-beku-2070977/

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