Mega Iceberg -- One of the Largest on Record -- Released 150 Billion Tons of Freshwater Near Island

upstart writes:

Mega Iceberg - One of the Largest on Record - Released 150 Billion Tons of Freshwater Near Island:

In July 2017, a giant iceberg, named A-68, snapped off Antarctica's Larsen-C ice shelf and began an epic journey across the Southern Ocean. Three and a half years later, the main part of iceberg, A-68A, drifted worryingly close to South Georgia. Concerns were that the berg would run aground in the shallow waters offshore. This would not only cause damage to the seafloor ecosystem but also make it difficult for island wildlife, such as penguins, to make their way to the sea to feed.

[...] For the first two years of its life, A-68A stayed in the cold waters of the Weddell Sea close to its parent ice shelf. Here, it experienced little in the way of melting. However, once the berg began its northward journey across the Drake Passage, it traveled through increasingly warm waters and began to melt.

[...] Tommaso Parrinello, ESA's CryoSat Mission Manager, said, "Our ability to study every move of the iceberg in such detail is thanks to advances in satellite techniques and the use of a variety of measurements. Imaging satellites record the shape of the iceberg and data from altimetry missions like CryoSat add another important dimension as they measure the height of surfaces - which is essential for calculating changes in volume."

The new study reveals that A-68A collided only briefly with the sea floor and broke apart shortly afterward, making it less of a risk in terms of blockage. By the time it reached the shallow waters around South Georgia, the iceberg's keel had reduced to 141 meters below the ocean surface, shallow enough to just avoid the seabed which is around 150 meters deep.

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