The world's largesticebergis floating toward the island of South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Scientists fear the iceberg could crash into the island and block major feeding areas for a large population of penguins and seals.
世界上最大的冰山正在向南大西洋的南喬治亞島漂移。科學家們擔心冰山會撞到島上，阻塞企鵝和海豹的主要覓食區。
The huge iceberg is named A68a. It broke away from Antarctica's Larsen C iceshelfin 2017. It has since has floated toward South Georgia, a British overseas territory.
這座巨大的冰山被命名為A68a。2017年，它從南極洲的拉森C冰架脫離。此後，它漂流到了英國海外領土南喬治亞。
Satellite images show the iceberg has remained in one piece. It is estimated to be about 150 kilometers long and 48 kilometers wide. It is traveling at one kilometer an hour and is on a path to hit South Georgia in around 30 days.
衛星圖片顯示，冰山仍完好無損，預計長度為150公裡、寬度為48公裡。以每小時一公裡的速度行進，將在大約30天內到達南喬治亞。
The British Antarctic Survey says it is concerned that if the iceberg hits the island, it could prevent the penguins and seals from reaching food supplies.
英國南極調查局表示，他們擔心，如果冰山撞到島上，可能會阻止企鵝和海豹的覓食途徑。
Professor Geraint Tarling is an ecologist with the Antarctic Survey. He says right now is the time of year when seals and penguins spend a lot of time caring for their young. This means the distance that parents have to travel to find food is important.
傑蘭特·塔林教授是南極考察隊的生態學家。他說，和以往相比，海豹和企鵝每年花了更多時間照顧孩子。這意味著父母尋找食物所需要的距離很重要。
"That means they have to go a lot further, they have to go around the iceberg, or to actually go further to find sources of food," Tarling told VOA. "And that time is quite critical at this particular period of their life cycle."
塔林對美國之音說:「這意味著它們必須走得更遠，它們必須繞過冰山，或者是去到更遠的地方，尋找食物來源。」「在它們生命周期的這個特定階段，這段時間是相當關鍵的。」
Ecologists say an iceberg crash would alsodisturbmaterials settled on the seabed, possibly polluting the surrounding seas. As the iceberg melts, it would also release large amounts of fresh water into the ocean. This could affect krill populations that are a major source of food for the island's wildlife.
生態學家說，冰山撞擊還會干擾海床上的物質，可能會汙染周圍的海洋。隨著冰山的融化，它也會向海洋中釋放大量的淡水。這可能會影響磷蝦的數量，而磷蝦是島上野生動物的主要食物來源。
Tarling says the iceberg could remain for 10 years and change the area's wholeecosystem. "These are globally significant populations of these species. If thesespeciesfail in this particular area, then the numbers globally are going to go down quitedramatically," he said.
塔林說，冰山可能會持續10年，並改變該地區的整個生態系統。「對於部分物種的主要居住地，若受到影響，那麼這些物種的全球數量將會急劇下降。」他說。
The breaking off of icebergs from Antarctica is a natural process. But the process is changing with climate change. "What we're seeing with models and some observations now is the rate at which this is happening is increasing. And so, this might become more of a usual thing into the future," Tarling said.
南極洲的冰山脫落是一個自然過程。但這一過程正隨著氣候變化而改變。「我們通過模型和一些觀察現在看到的是，這種情況正在增加。因此，這在未來可能會成為一件更平常的事情。」
The iceberg also could damage South Georgia's valuable fishing industry. Fishers pay for the rights to catch Patagonian toothfish, icefish and krill in waters off the island.
冰山還可能破壞南喬治亞寶貴的漁業。漁民為獲得在島外水域捕撈巴塔哥尼亞犬牙魚、冰魚和磷蝦的權利支付了費用。
Officials are hoping that changing weather patterns could direct the iceberg out into the open ocean, where it would, in time, break up and melt.
官員們希望，不斷變化的天氣模式可以將冰山引導到開放的海洋中，在那裡，它將及時地分裂和融化。
編譯：By Aslan