Iceberg on collision course with South Georgia.

The giant A-68A iceberg could strike land this month – wreaking havoc near the waters of the South Georgia Island.

Since its ‘birth’ in 2017, the iceberg has travelled thousands of kilometres from the Larsen C ice shelf, in Antarctica, and now lies around 120 km from South Georgia. If it remains on its current path, the iceberg could ground in the shallow waters offshore – threatening wildlife, including penguins and seals.

Satellite missions are being used to track the berg on its journey over the past three years. The Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar mission, with its ability to see through clouds and the dark, has been instrumental in mapping the polar regions in winter.

Video credits:

Animation: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2017-18), processed by Swansea University-A. Luckman

Radar images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2020), processed by ESA,  CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

A-68A map: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2020), processed by ESA; Antarctic Iceberg Tracking Database

Sentinel-1 animations: ESA/ATG Medialab

Penguins footage: Getty

11 December 2020

esa