Massive iceberg pivots, breaks near south Atlantic penguin colony island
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Wednesday
June 29, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022
Massive iceberg pivots, breaks near south Atlantic penguin colony island

World+Biz

Reuters
19 December, 2020, 04:15 pm
Last modified: 19 December, 2020, 04:21 pm

Related News

  • A nation-state on an island off the coast of Belize
  • Top US official in Taiwan says Washington committed to helping island defend itself
  • How to tell your boss you need a long break
  • Swedish film festival offers nurse an isolated, island cinema for a week
  • Massive iceberg continues losing mass as it swirls around South Georgia island

Massive iceberg pivots, breaks near south Atlantic penguin colony island

Scientists have been watching for weeks the massive iceberg, last measured at 4,200-square-kilometers, as it rode a fast-track current towards the island

Reuters
19 December, 2020, 04:15 pm
Last modified: 19 December, 2020, 04:21 pm
Massive iceberg pivots, breaks near south Atlantic penguin colony island

Strong currents have taken hold of a massive Antarctic iceberg that is on a collision course towards South Georgia Island, causing it to shift direction and lose a major chunk of mass, a scientist tracking its journey said on Friday.

As the iceberg, dubbed A68a, approached the western shelf edge of the south Atlantic island this week, it encountered strong currents, causing it to pivot nearly 180 degrees, according to Geraint Tarling, a biological oceanographer with the British Antarctic Survey.

"You can almost imagine it as a handbrake turn for the iceberg because the currents were so strong," Tarling said.

That's when the berg appeared to clip the shelf edge, and caused a large piece to break apart. That new piece is an iceberg in its own right and already has a name - A68d.

Scientists have been watching for weeks the massive iceberg, last measured at 4,200-square-kilometers, as it rode a fast-track current towards the island.

Researchers feared that, as the berg closed in on the wildlife-rich island, it could grind into the seabed, disrupting underwater ecosystems. They were also worried that the berg might block penguins making their way into the sea for food.

As of Friday, the original A68a iceberg was about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the island's west coast. It appeared, however, to be heading southeast towards another current that would likely carry it away from the shelf edge before sweeping it back around toward the island's eastern shelf area.

That means the berg could still cause an environmental disaster for local wildlife, but along the island's eastern coast rather than the southwest.

"All of those things can still happen, nothing has changed in that regard," Tarling said.

The new smaller berg, A68d, is moving further away from the original berg. Scientists don't yet know if it will follow the same path, or become lodged somewhere else on the shelf. An estimate of A68d's size was not yet available.

Scientists had predicted some chunks could break away from A68a as it approached the island, and more breakage is possible.

A68a broke off from the Antarctic peninsula in 2017.

Top News

Iceberg / break / south Atlantic / penguin colony / Island

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Photo: Collected
    Student who killed Savar teacher with cricket stump arrested 
  • Penalty for non-disclosure of offshore assets: Budget FY23
    Penalty for non-disclosure of offshore assets: Budget FY23
  • Representational image. Picture: Pixabay
    Individuals to submit tax return acknowledgement document instead of an e-tin certificate

MOST VIEWED

  • Test tubes are seen in front of displayed Pfizer and Biontech logos in this illustration taken, May 21, 2021. Reuters: llustration
    BioNTech, Pfizer to start testing universal vaccine for coronaviruses
  • Security personnel recover the body of a migrant in the area between Kufra city and Chadian border with Libya June 28, 2022. Photo: Reuters
    Bodies of 20 migrants found in Libyan desert two weeks after last contact
  • Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu shakes hands with Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde next to Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto , Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after signing a document during a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, June 28, 2022. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura/File Photo
    NATO deal with Turkey greeted with caution and concern in Sweden
  • Afghan Deputy Prime Minister Mawlavi Abdul Salam Hanafi speaks during the death anniversary of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the late leader and founder of the Taliban, in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 24, 2022. REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo
    Men will represent women at gathering for national unity - Taliban leader
  • A rescuer stands next to a residential building hit by a Russian military strike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine June 29, 2022. Photo: Reuters
    Russian missiles rain down on Ukraine as West pledges enduring support
  • The congested Port of Los Angeles is shown in San Pedro, California, US, September 29, 2021. Photo: Reuters
    China to extend tariff exemptions on some US products

Related News

  • A nation-state on an island off the coast of Belize
  • Top US official in Taiwan says Washington committed to helping island defend itself
  • How to tell your boss you need a long break
  • Swedish film festival offers nurse an isolated, island cinema for a week
  • Massive iceberg continues losing mass as it swirls around South Georgia island

Features

Mahathir accused financial titans of seeking to reverse decades of economic development that propelled tens of millions into the middle class. Photo: Bloomberg

George Soros, Mahathir and the legacy of 1997

5h | Panorama
 If Bangladesh produces and exports high-value-added MMF products right now, we can increase our total export by around 25% in value. Photo: Mumit M

Time ripe for Bangladesh RMG sector to focus more on man-made fibres

8h | Panorama
Human Library Bangladesh has organised so far nine sessions; eight have been held in different parts of Dhaka and one in Khulna. Photo: Courtesy

Human Library Bangladesh: Where the halls come alive with human voices

10h | Panorama
Abortion is a part of healthcare. Photo: Bloomberg

Abortion is healthcare and women’s rights are human rights

1d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Beautiful mural at Padma bridge

Beautiful mural at Padma bridge

2h | Videos
Ferry terminals wear deserted look, traders fear losses

Ferry terminals wear deserted look, traders fear losses

3h | Videos
Top 10: World’s longest bridges

Top 10: World’s longest bridges

3h | Videos
Archeological artefacts getting ruined locked in store room

Archeological artefacts getting ruined locked in store room

8h | Videos

Most Read

1
Padma Bridge from satellite. Photo: Screengrab
Bangladesh

Padma Bridge from satellite 

2
Photo: TBS
Bangladesh

Motorcycles banned on Padma Bridge 

3
Japan cancels financing Matarbari coal project phase 2
Bangladesh

Japan cancels financing Matarbari coal project phase 2

4
Photo: Courtesy
Corporates

Gree AC being used in all parts of Padma Bridge project

5
Photo: TBS
Infrastructure

Gains from Padma Bridge to cross $10b, hope experts

6
Desco wanted to make a bold statement with their new head office building, a physical entity that would be a corporate icon. Photo: Courtesy
Habitat

Desco head office: When commitment to community and environment inspires architecture

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab
BENEATH THE SURFACE
An aerial view of a MRT Line-6 construction site. Work on the first elevated metro rail of Bangladesh is going on in full swing. A total of 16 elevated stations will connect the capital’s Uttara to Motijheel via Mirpur, Farmgate and Dhaka University. The photo was taken from Farmgate area recently. Photo: Rajib Dhar

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net