Largest iceberg makes another stop on an epic journey

The world’s largest iceberg has run ground in shallow waters about 50 miles off South Georgia, a remote British Island that is home to millions of penguins and seals - and about 30 people during the summer. The 1-trillion-ton slab of ice is about the size of Rhode Island. It broke away from an Antarctic ice sheet in 1986 and grounded for decades before floating free. Scientists worried the iceberg would endanger wildlife if it hit South Georgia, but they also say it could supply sea life with a wealth of nutrients as it melts.

Class discussion: Icebergs breaking away from ice sheets and glaciers is a natural phenomenon, but Antarctica is now losing ice faster than it can be replaced by snowfall. Why? Antarctica is the world’s largest desert. What is the second largest? Sea level would rise 200 feet if all Antarctica’s ice melted. Is your area threatened by rising seas? How many people live near the world’s oceans? How is the weather near you being affected by a warming climate?