Nov 24 - The world's largest iceberg is on the move for the first time in more than three decades, scientists said on Friday. At almost 4,000 square km (1,500 square miles), the Antarctic iceberg called A23a is roughly three times the size of New York City.

11月24日，科学家周五表示，世界上最大的冰山三十多年来首次开始移动。这座名为 A23a 的南极冰山面积近 4000 平方公里（1500 平方英里），大约是纽约市面积的三倍。

Since calving off West Antarctica's Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in 1986, the iceberg — which once hosted a Soviet research station — has largely been stranded after its base became stuck on the floor of the Weddell Sea.

这座冰山曾是苏联研究站的所在地，自从1986年从南极洲西部的菲尔希纳·罗恩冰架上浮出后，冰山的基座就卡在了威德尔海的海底。

Not anymore. Recent satellite images reveal that the berg, weighing nearly a trillion metric tonnes, is now drifting quickly past the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, aided by strong winds and currents.

现在不一样了。最近的卫星图像显示，在强风和洋流的帮助下，重达近一万亿公吨的冰山正快速漂过南极半岛的北端。

It's rare to see an iceberg of this size on the move, said British Antarctic Survey glaciologist Oliver Marsh, so scientists will be watching its trajectory closely.

英国南极调查局冰川学家奥利弗·马什（Oliver Marsh）说，如此巨大的冰山在移动中是非常罕见的，因此科学家们将密切关注它的移动轨迹。

As it gains steam, the colossal berg will likely be launched into the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. This will funnel it toward the Southern Ocean on a path known as "iceberg alley" where others of its kind can be found bobbing in dark waters.

随着它的蒸发，这块巨大的冰山很可能会被卷入南极环极洋流。这将使它沿着一条被称为"冰山小巷 "的路径驶向南大洋，在这条小巷里，其他同类的冰山会在黑暗的海水中晃动。

Why the berg is making a run for it now remains to be seen. "Over time it's probably just thinned slightly and got that little bit of extra buoyancy that's allowed it to lift off the ocean floor and get pushed by ocean currents," said Marsh. A23a is also among the world's oldest icebergs.

至于这块冰山为什么要逃亡，现在还不得而知。"马什说："随着时间的推移，它可能只是略微变薄，获得了一点点额外的浮力，使它能够升离洋底，被洋流推动。A23a也是世界上最古老的冰山之一。

It's possible A23a could again become grounded at South Georgia island. That would pose a problem for Antarctica's wildlife. Millions of seals, penguins, and seabirds breed on the island and forage in the surrounding waters. Behemoth A23a could cut off such access.

A23a有可能再次在南乔治亚岛搁浅。这将给南极洲的野生动物带来麻烦。数以百万计的海豹、企鹅和海鸟在岛上繁殖，并在周围水域觅食。巨兽 A23a 可能会切断这些通道。

In 2020, another giant iceberg, A68, stirred fears that it would collide with South Georgia, crushing marine life on the sea floor and cutting off food access. Such a catastrophe was ultimately averted when the iceberg broke up into smaller chunks — a possible end game for A23a as well.

2020年，另一座巨型冰山 A68 引发了人们的担忧，担心它会与南乔治亚岛相撞，将海洋生物压死在海底，切断食物通道。当冰山碎裂成小块时，这样的灾难最终得以避免--A23a 也可能是这样的结局。

But "an iceberg of this scale has the potential to survive for quite a long time in the Southern Ocean, even though it's much warmer, and it could make its way farther north up toward South Africa where it can disrupt shipping," said Marsh.

但是，"这种规模的冰山有可能在南大洋存活很长时间，尽管南大洋的温度要高得多，而且它可能向更北的南非进发，在那里它可能会扰乱航运，"马什说。

"I asked a couple of colleagues about this, wondering if there was any possible change in shelf water temperatures that might have provoked it, but the consensus is the time had just come," Dr. Andrew Fleming, a remote sensing expert from the British Antarctic Survey, told the BBC. "It was grounded since 1986 but eventually it was going to decrease (in size) sufficiently to lose grip and start moving."

"英国南极调查局的遥感专家安德鲁-弗莱明博士告诉英国广播公司（BBC）："我询问了几位同事，想知道是否有可能是陆架水温的变化引起了它，但大家的共识是时机已到。"它自 1986 年起就被搁浅了，但最终它（体积）会缩小到足以失去抓地力并开始移动"。

A23a will likely be ejected into what's called the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which will put it on a path that has become known as "iceberg alley," the BBC reports. That is the same current of water that famed explorer Ernest Shackleton used in 1916 to make his storied escape from Antarctica after losing his ship, the Endurance. The legendary shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Antarctica just last year.

据BBC报道，A23a很可能会被喷射到所谓的南极环极洋流中，这将使它走上一条被称为"冰山胡同 "的道路。1916年，著名探险家欧内斯特-沙克尔顿（Ernest Shackleton）就是利用这股洋流，在失去了他的 "忍者号 "之后，从南极洲成功逃生的。这艘传奇的沉船去年刚刚在南极洲海岸被发现。

编辑：ETTBL

译：Gleen

材料来源：路透社*配图取自网络，仅供学习分享使用，侵删