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A massive iceberg named D-30A has slammed into Clarence Island, a crucial nesting ground for penguins in Antarctica. Fortunately, though, the penguins weren’t at home when the iceberg hit.

The iceberg is around half the size of Rhode Island and smashed into the penguin refuge two years after it was birthed by a similar collision. Fortunately, minimal damage was recorded on Clarence Island.

D-30A is around 45 miles long (72 kilometres) and 12.5 miles wide (20 kilometres). It is the largest remaining piece of D-30, which was dislodged in June 2021 when its parent berg D-28 smashed into land near the Borchgrevink Ice Shelf in eastern Antarctica. Since then, D-30A has slowly drifted west along the Antarctic coast.

In 2022, the massive iceberg changed course suddenly and made a beeline straight for the penguin colony, almost as if it was aiming for the poor penguins. Then on September 6, the enormous ice cube rammed into the island’s south coastline before spinning around to the east of the island and heading out to sea several days later. Phew.

[image:flickr/christophermichel]

Wildlife can be severely disrupted when icebergs crash into islands, particularly if the bergs become stranded on the seafloor encircling the remote landmasses. The ice can change the temperature and salinity of the nearby waters as well as prevent marine animals from travelling out to sea to feed.

In addition to destroying seafloor habitats, ice scraping over the ocean floor can seriously unbalance the food chain in the area.

Even though the iceberg didn’t stick around for long, it could have caused real problems for the penguins had they been nesting on the island at the time. As nesting penguins incubate their eggs, they rely on their partners to hunt for food, something that could become very difficult with a massive slab of ice on their doorstep.

D-30A currently appears to be travelling through the Drake Passage, also known as “iceberg alley,” where enormous icebergs are dragged into warmer waters where they eventually melt.

Fortunately, the penguins on Clarens Island dodged an icy bullet.

[source:livescience]