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.

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.

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.

Massive iceberg pivots, breaks near south Atlantic penguin colony island

Chinstrap penguins in peril: Colonies in Western Antarctic decline as global warming worsens

A crack that could create an iceberg the size of Delaware -- and destabilise one of the largest ice shelves in the Antarctic -- has branched out and begun to widen more quickly, a scientist said on Wednesday.

The new fissure has turned toward the shelf&#39;s ocean edge, potentially speeding up the iceberg&#39;s process of breaking off, said Dan McGrath, a geophysicist with the US&nbsp;Geological Survey and a project partner with UK-based monitoring group Project Midas, which reported on the new crack on Monday.

&quot;It&rsquo;s taking basically a sharp hook toward the calving front,&quot; said McGrath, using a technical term to describe the ocean side of the ice shelf.

It is reasonable to link the event and the shrinking ice shelves in Antarctica to global warming, Richard Alley, a glaciologist at Penn State University who is not connected with the project.

An overwhelming majority of scientists say human activity - including the burning of oil, gas and coal - is the main driver of rising global temperatures.

Located on the Larsen C ice shelf, the fourth largest in Antarctica, the new Antarctica crack is an offshoot of a rupture that gained notice after growing dramatically in 2014, and last year was forecast to cause the separation of a 1,900-square-mile (5,000-square-kilometer) iceberg within years.

For comparison, the projected size of the iceberg is more than 300,000 times the size of the 125-meter (410-foot) iceberg that sunk the Titanic, putting it among the largest on record.

While not getting longer, the original crack has continued to widen steadily, at a rate of about 3 feet (1 meter) per day, a rate that has increased since the new crack formed, according to the Midas report.

McGrath, who has studied the shelf extensively, said the combination of the new crack and the faster widening could point to an imminent separation of the berg, even as soon as this summer.

The loss of so much ice would shrink the shelf by about 10 percent, leaving it with the smallest area ever recorded.

Scientists from the group also warned in 2015 that the loss of such a large mass of ice would create a &quot;significant risk&quot; of the shelf as a whole becoming unstable and breaking up, although McGrath cautioned the outcome is not guaranteed.

(Reuters)

The new fissure has turned toward the shelf's ocean edge, potentially speeding up the iceberg's process of breaking off, said Dan McGrath

A crack that could create an iceberg the size of Delaware -- and destabilise one of the largest ice shelves in the Antarctic -- has branched out and begun to widen more quickly, a scientist said on Wednesday. The new fissure has turned toward the shelf's ocean edge, potentially speeding up the iceberg's process of breaking off, said Dan McGrath, a geophysicist with the US Geological Survey and a project partner with UK-based monitoring group Project Midas, which reported on the new crack on Monday. "It’s taking basically a sharp hook toward the calving front," said McGrath, using a technical term to describe the ocean side of the ice shelf. It is reasonable to link the event and the shrinking ice shelves in Antarctica to global warming, Richard Alley, a glaciologist at Penn State University who is not connected with the project. An overwhelming majority of scientists say human activity - including the burning of oil, gas and coal - is the main driver of rising global temperatures. Located on the Larsen C ice shelf, the fourth largest in Antarctica, the new Antarctica crack is an offshoot of a rupture that gained notice after growing dramatically in 2014, and last year was forecast to cause the separation of a 1,900-square-mile (5,000-square-kilometer) iceberg within years. For comparison, the projected size of the iceberg is more than 300,000 times the size of the 125-meter (410-foot) iceberg that sunk the Titanic, putting it among the largest on record. While not getting longer, the original crack has continued to widen steadily, at a rate of about 3 feet (1 meter) per day, a rate that has increased since the new crack formed, according to the Midas report. McGrath, who has studied the shelf extensively, said the combination of the new crack and the faster widening could point to an imminent separation of the berg, even as soon as this summer. The loss of so much ice would shrink the shelf by about 10 percent, leaving it with the smallest area ever recorded. Scientists from the group also warned in 2015 that the loss of such a large mass of ice would create a "significant risk" of the shelf as a whole becoming unstable and breaking up, although McGrath cautioned the outcome is not guaranteed. (Reuters)

Growing Antarctic crack primes Delaware-sized iceberg