Iceberg: Underwater robotic gliders to investigate mass on collision course with South Georgia

Robotic underwater gliders will be sent to investigate the massive iceberg presently on a collision course with the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, experts said. Dubbed A68a, the enormous mass -- some 87 miles (140 km) in length -- broke off from Antarctica's Larsen C Ice Shelf in 2017 and has been drifting north ever since. Scientists tracking the berg's progress via satellite warned that A68a -- propelled by the powerful circumpolar current -- could hit South Georgia within days. There is the chance that it could split into pieces beforehand -- MOD images taken from above the icy body have suggested that is already beginning to break up. But A68a is a hazard for wildlife -- having the potential to crush marine life on the island's ocean shelf and make waters inhospitable as it melts to release freshwater.