I became concerned last week when I read that the world’s largest iceberg had just started moving and was headed into the Southern Atlantic Ocean. According to the reports, the iceberg is 1,500 square miles in surface area, is about 1,200 feet thick, and weighs approximately 1.1 trillion tons. This equates to 264 trillion gallons of fresh water added to the oceans. We have heard for more than a decade from climate activists that melting glaciers and rising sea levels would spell doom for the planet, so indeed, this was an event worthy of caution and dread.
I braced myself for the usual panicked conversations on global warming and how this one iceberg was surely so large that it would cause Miami and New York City to be submerged sometime soon. I prayed that Greta Thunberg and Al Gore were not visiting a climate conference in some low-country area like Charleston.
Southern Not Northern
But then I read on and realized that this was an Antarctic Iceberg, not an Arctic Iceberg, and I saw no reason for fear. There appeared to be some glee that it was moving away from the Antarctic ice shelf and into the ocean. Hopefully, our modern-day sea captains, armed with GPS, satellite imagery, and other newer navigational aids, can avoid a Titanic repeat.
But why are climate alarmists not concerned about losing an iceberg of this size? The oceans are the oceans, and putting too much water in one end theoretically should raise the ocean levels everywhere. Dumping in a fresh 264 trillion gallons of water at the South Pole should raise water levels worldwide. Al Gore typically confines his melting comments to the Arctic and not Antarctic regions, which also provides some level of comfort.
Iceberg A23a
As it turns out, Antarctic Iceberg A23a broke away from the ice shelf about thirty-seven years ago. It was so heavy that it stuck to the ocean floor. It had been sitting around all this time and moving a little, but not much. Finally, after thirty years, it lost just enough mass from wave action or winds to become buoyant and started to move into the ocean currents. There was no event or warning; it was just time to move north.
Iceberg A23a has been sitting around waiting to move for longer than Greta Thunberg has been alive. She would probably have made us all aware of the impending doom once it went on the move. But this important event allows us to examine how climate scientists view the calving and movement of icebergs. Away from all the gnashing of teeth, protests, and politics, this is a different story.
Value of Melting Icebergs
As it turns out, contrary to the rhetoric from climate change activists, melting icebergs have great value in replenishing nutrients in the oceans and controlling global temperatures. More, not less, melting icebergs have a beneficial effect on the oceans and the planet. We all know that as glaciers slowly crawl across the landscape, they move massive amounts of dirt and debris toward the world’s oceans. The debris becomes locked in the ice, and it is not until it is released from the ice in a sort of “bio-dust” that it transitions to beneficial material.
Without rivers, our southern seas lack the nutrients to support wildlife and fishing. Deprived of the melting glaciers and icebergs, large quantities of seabirds, fish, krill, and phytoplankton would be missing from the oceans.
Quoted in a 2o07 article on this iceberg A23a, University of South Carolina geochemist Timothy Shaw stated:
“The Southern Ocean lacks a major source for terrestrial material due to the absence of major rivers. The icebergs constitute a moving estuary, distributing terrestrial-derived nutrients that are typically supplied by rivers in other areas of the oceans.”
As it turns out, the phytoplankton sustained by the iceberg improves CO2 absorption from the ocean, making the seas much more beneficial to the climate than we think. In the sea where the Antarctic icebergs migrate, there can be as many as 1,000 icebergs covering over 4,000 square miles of the Southern Oceans. The icebergs raise the area’s biodiversity by as much as 40%. It becomes evident that there is a trade-off, a balancing act between ocean carbon sequestration and temperature.
Ocean levels may rise minimally when we get melting icebergs, but biodiversity is also critical. Before complaining about rising global temperatures, we need much more study to understand the ecosystem. These gigantic floating icebergs can last for decades and provide a sustained source of oceanic carbon capture. There appears to be a cycle to this little corner of nature where a slight rise in temperature increases the rate of iceberg formation, which in turn increases the ocean’s ability to absorb CO2 and puts some checks on rising temperatures.
A23a Motors North
While A23a officially detached from Antarctica back in 1986, it was not until 2020 that it showed any real movement as it rose from the seafloor. Wind and currents have now moved A23a to the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, where it will be picked up by the Southern Ocean and enter the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. From here, it will enter what is known as “Iceberg Alley” and drift along for decades, theoretically getting smaller each day. Since as much as 90% of an iceberg’s mass is below water, we can only understand a fraction of this behemoth’s potential benefits.
Big, But Not the Biggest
In a quest to find the danger in A23a, some climate activists have warned that it “might” pose a threat to the island of South Georgia wildlife and “might” pose a threat to South Africa if it enters those waters. But a wait-and-see position seems more prudent as, in recent years, much time, energy, and money have been wasted on the potential disasters of climate wars.
This is a giant iceberg and a big event, but it is not even close to the largest iceberg on record. In 1956, an iceberg of 12,000 square miles was spotted in the Southern Ocean. This one was larger than the country of Belgium but might have been even larger since this was an estimate without the benefit of satellite imagery.
Like all icebergs, A23a will begin to break apart, and portions will drift toward the island of South Georgia. As it moves along and depletes, it becomes less dangerous to ocean traffic but can have other effects. If it or large pieces “attach” to one of the islands in the area, it will influence wildlife and sea life. But time will move on, and there will be many more icebergs, some bigger and a lot smaller.
Parting Thoughts
If you are like me, I try to tread lightly on the earth by not doing stupid things like building a toxic waste dump. But for 99% of us, life will go on if we do nothing but enjoy every day and stop worrying about something we cannot fix. The universe has mechanisms for setting the planets back to zero occasionally, and there is little we can do about it. For all we know, there is a meteor heading our way that will land next week and vaporize our species like the dinosaurs. When the earth is tired of us, it will send us to extinction and move on to a new species. For all we know, the dinosaurs are poised for a repeat performance.
In any contest between you and the planet, bet on the planet!
For more thoughts on climate change, see our article titled “Willie, Al, Greta, and the Butterfly”
Resources Used in This Article
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Antarctic icebergs may offset carbon emissions, by Hilary Osborne, The Guardian, theguardian.com, June 22, 2007.
Revealed: how giant icebergs breathe life into remote oceans, by Michael Clarke, The Conversation, theconversation.com, January 11, 2016.
The world’s largest iceberg, A23a, has detached from the seabed in Antarctica and started floating towards the South Atlantic – Dagsavisen, Norway Posts English, norway.posten.com, November 24, 2023.
There’s no need to panic about the rising sea level, by Fred Singer, The Hill, thehill.com, June 8, 2018.
What countries and cities will disappear due to rising sea levels?, by Joe Phelan, livescience.com, March 27, 2022.
World must act now to defuse ‘climate time bomb,’ UN scientists warn, by Ben Turner, Space.com, March 21, 2023.
World’s Largest Iceberg, A23a, Embarks on a Journey After 30 Years of Stagnation, by Mahnoor Jehangir, Breaking News, bnn.network, November 26, 2023.
World’s biggest iceberg triple size of New York drifting ‘at speed’ after ice shelf split, by Charlie Jones, The Mirror US, themirror.com, November 27, 2023.
World’s largest iceberg A23a on the move for first time in 30 years, ABC News Australia, ABCnewsAU.com, November 24, 2023.
World’s largest iceberg A23a tracked by satellite images, by Emily Bates, NewScientist.com, last accessed November 26, 2023.
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