• 9964432222
  • Mail Us
  • Appointment
  • Locate Us
  • Chat Now
  • Courses
  • Login
  • Register
Manifest IAS
JournalsOfIndia
Advertisement
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
JournalsOfIndia
No Result
View All Result
Home Geography

A68a Iceberg of Antarctica

December 28, 2020
in Geography, Environment
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
A68a Iceberg of Antarctica
401
VIEWS
Share on WhatsAppShare on TelegramShare on Facebook
image_pdfMake PDF

In news 

the giant iceberg A68 has been drifting from in the Atlantic Ocean, this year due to an ocean current, the iceberg was propelled into the South Atlantic Ocean

About the giant iceberg

  •  A68 iceberg is the biggest block of free-floating ice from Antarctica with an area of about 5,800 sq. km
  • This year, due to an ocean current, the iceberg was propelled into the South Atlantic Ocean and since then it has been drifting towards the remote sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, prompting fears about the impact the iceberg could have on the island’s abundant wildlife.

What is A68a and where is it headed?

A68a, an iceberg roughly the size of the state of Delaware, split off from Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf in July 2017. Since then it has been drifting towards the remote island of South Georgia, which is a British Overseas Territory (BOT).

Movement of the iceberg

What is A68a and where is it headed?

  • A68a, an iceberg roughly the size of the state of Delaware, split off from Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf in July 2017. Since then it has been drifting towards the remote island of South Georgia, which is a British Overseas Territory (BOT).
  • The smaller icebergs have calved from the iceberg  on its journey and right now, the biggest section of the iceberg is called A68a and spans an area of roughly 2,600 sq. km
  • Recently, the US National Ice Center (USNIC) confirmed that two new icebergs calved from A68a and were large enough to be named and tracked. They are called A68E and A68F.
Who names icebergs?

US National Ice Center (USNIC) is responsible for naming icebergs, which are named according to the Antarctic quadrant in which they are spotted

The U.S. National Ice Center (USNIC) is a fully integrated multi-agency organization composed of contributions from the U.S. Navy (USN), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). The USNIC monitors the global sea ice environment from its offices at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility (NSOF) in Suitland, MD.

The recent calving of the iceberg and climate change

  •  According to the British Antarctic Survey, the iceberg’s calving is thought to be a natural event and not a result of climate change. 
  • However, some models predict that a warming Antarctica in the future could mean more calving events as ice shelves and glaciers retreat.

What is the concern?

  • The concern is that if the iceberg grounds itself near the island, it could cause disruption to the local wildlife that forages in the ocean. 
  • According ecologists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), which will launch a research mission to study A68a’s impact on the ecosystem next month, if the iceberg gets stuck near the island, it could mean that penguins and seals will have to travel farther in search of food, and for some this might mean that they don’t get back in time to prevent their offspring from starving to death

Positive impact 

There are some positives of an iceberg being stuck in the open ocean, since icebergs carry dust which fertilizes ocean plankton, which draws up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

image_pdfMake PDF
Source: The Indian Express
Tags: Prelims

Related Posts

World Forestry Congress, 2022

World Forestry Congress, 2022

May 19, 2022
Himalayan Bird Count(HBC)

Himalayan Bird Count(HBC)

May 19, 2022
Urban Heat Islands

Urban Heat Islands

May 18, 2022
Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary

Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary

May 17, 2022
NGWA Global Multi-hub challenge

NGWA Global Multi-hub challenge

May 16, 2022
Amalthea moon

Amalthea moon

May 16, 2022
Discovery of Madtsoiidae snake fossil in Ladakh Himalaya

Discovery of Madtsoiidae snake fossil in Ladakh Himalaya

May 14, 2022
COP15 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) conference

COP15 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) conference

May 13, 2022
Amrit Sarovar Mission

Amrit Sarovar Mission

May 13, 2022
Marsquake

Marsquake

May 12, 2022
Please login to join discussion

Our Offline Classroom Student

PRELIMS 2021 POLITY QUESTIONS ANALYSED

https://youtu.be/5q8hBcRGhAs

PRELIMS 2021 HISTORY QUESTIONS ANALYSED

https://youtu.be/v0SIZ7SUybg

CONGRATULATIONS TO 2020 TOPPERS !!!

Rank 25 Vaibhav Rawat 

Rank 218 Kankanala Rahul Reddy
Rank 385 Sagar A Wadi
Rank 504 Malashree MV
Rank 573 Shridevi B V
Rank 707 Mamatha G

COURSES OFFERED

PRELIMS SURESHOTS

May 2022
MTWTFSS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031 
« Apr    

Browse by Category

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tags

AIR BBC Business Standard CNN Deccan Herald DownToEarth Down to Earth DTE Economic Times ET GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Hindustan Times IE India & the world Indian express India today Indiatoday Kurukshetra LiveMint Mains News News Paper Newspaper PIB PIB & The Hindu pre Prelims PRS India RSTV Science Reporter Survey The Hindu The Hindustan Times The India Express The Indian Express The New Indian Express Times of India TOI TOPPERS UNDP website Wikipedia Yojana
JournalsOfIndia

Our vision is to orient the readers to grasp the facts objectively and analyse critically. In the rush of reaching first to the readers, the websites miss the balanced opinion, which is the need of the hour. We aim to reach the readers with more crispness, preciseness and relevance. We bring the articles in UPSC way for the civil services aspirants and the Wisest Way for general readers.

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tag

AIR BBC Business Standard CNN Deccan Herald DownToEarth Down to Earth DTE Economic Times ET GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Hindustan Times IE India & the world Indian express India today Indiatoday Kurukshetra LiveMint Mains News News Paper Newspaper PIB PIB & The Hindu pre Prelims PRS India RSTV Science Reporter Survey The Hindu The Hindustan Times The India Express The Indian Express The New Indian Express Times of India TOI TOPPERS UNDP website Wikipedia Yojana

Newsletter

The most important UPSC news and events of the day.

Get Journals daily newsletter on your inbox.

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Home
  • SNIPPETS
  • ARTICLES
  • BROWSE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In