The world’s largest iceberg is on a collision course with a remote British island, which could put penguins and seals at risk.

The iceberg is rotating north from Antarctica towards southern Georgia, a British badlands and wildlife refuge, where it could lead to and break land. It is currently 173 miles (280 km) away.

Countless birds and seals died on the icy bays and beaches of southern Georgia when giant icebergs stopped them feeding.

“The iceberg is inherently dangerous. I would be extraordinarily happy if we were completely lost,” says Sea Captain Simon Wallace, speaking from South Georgia State.

Around the world, a group of scientists, sailors and fishermen are eagerly examining satellite images to monitor the daily movements of this iceberg queen.

that it Known as A23A It is one of the oldest in the world.

It was jettisoned, or mothballed, from the Felchner Ice Shelf in Antarctica in 1986, but stuck on the seafloor and then trapped in the ocean gyre.

Finally, in December, she broke free and is now on her final journey, walking into oblivion.

Warmer waters grace North Antarctica and weaken its vast sides that extend to 1,312 feet (400 metres), longer than the Shard in London.

It was once measured beyond 3,900 square kilometers, but the latest satellite images show it is slowly decaying. It is now about 3,500 square kilometers in size, which is approximately the size of the English county of Cornwall.

Large sheets of ice collapse, sinking into the water around their edges.

A23A can break into wide segments on any given day, which may then hang around for years, like floating ice cities wandering uncontrollably around southern Georgia.

This is not the first massive iceberg to threaten the South Georgia and Sandwich Islands.

In 2004, one called A38 crashed onto its continental shelf, leaving dead penguin chicks and seal pups on beaches where huge chunks of ice blocked their access to feeding grounds.

The territory is home to valuable colonies of penguins and millions of elephants and furbearers.

“South Georgia is right in Iceberg Alley, so impacts would be expected for both fisheries and wildlife, both of which have great resilience,” says Mark Belchier, a marine ecologist who advises the South Georgia government.

Sailors and fisherman say icebergs are a growing problem. In 2023, one called the A76 gave them a scary buzz when it got close to grounding.

“Pieces of that were going up, so they looked like these magnificent ice towers, an ice city on the horizon,” says Mr. Belschier, who saw the ice while at sea.

These panels still stand around the islands today.

“It’s in parts from the size of several Wembley stadiums to pieces the size of your office,” says Andrew Newman of Argos Froyanes, a fishing company that operates in south Georgia.

“These pieces basically cover the island—we have to work our way through them,” says Captain Wallace.

Sailors on his ship must be constantly vigilant. “We have research instruments up all night to try to see the ice – it could come from anywhere,” he explains.

The A76 was a “Gamechanger”, according to Mr Newman, with “a huge impact on our operations and maintaining the safety of the ship and crew”.

The three men describe a rapidly changing environment, with visible ice retreat from year to year, and fluctuating levels of sea ice.

Climate change is unlikely to be behind the birth of A23A because it was strengthened a long time ago, before many of the effects of rising temperatures we see now.

But giant icebergs are part of our future. As Antarctica becomes more stable with warmer ocean and air temperatures, larger pieces of ice sheets will break off.

Before time was up, A23A left a parting gift for the scientists.

A team with the British Antarctic Survey on the Sir David Attenborough Research Ship found themselves near A23A in 2023.

Scientists were quick to seize the rare opportunity to investigate what megaglaciers are doing to the environment.

The ship sailed into a crack in the iceberg’s giant walls, and doctoral researcher Laura Taylor collected precious water samples 400 meters from its slopes.

“I saw a huge wall of ice above me, as far as I could see,” she explains from her lab in Cambridge. “It has different colors in different places. Chunks were falling — it was absolutely fantastic.” Sample analysis.

Her work looks at the impact of meltwater on the carbon cycle in the Southern Ocean.

“This isn’t just water like we drink,” Taylor says. “It’s full of nutrients and chemicals, as well as small animals like phytoplankton frozen inside.”

As it melts, the iceberg releases those elements into the water, changing the physics and chemistry of the ocean.

More carbon can be stored deeper in the ocean, where molecules sink from the surface. This would naturally shut down some of the planet’s carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change.

Icebergs are unpredictable and no one knows exactly what they will do next.

But soon the giant must appear, looming over the islands, as large as the territory itself.