A huge Game of Thrones-style ice wall is heading straight for British island

Inhabitants on a remote British Island are at risk due to the world's largest iceberg heading their way.

The massive trillion-ton ice wall is known as A23a and has even been compared to the Game of Thrones ice wall and its journey is on a collision course with South Georgia Island, according to scientists closely monitoring its movements.

“The iceberg itself is colossal and it stretches from horizon to horizon,” British Antarctic Survey physical oceanographer Andrew Meijers said, who got the opportunity to see the iceberg for himself after it floated past research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough, as per The Independent.

“It’s a huge wall, a Game of Thrones-style wall of ice that towers above the ship. With some waves breaking against it and if you get a bit of sunshine coming through, it’s really dramatic.”

He added that for every bit of the iceberg above the water’s surface, there are 10 times more below.

Here's everything you need to know about the giant ice wall:

How long has this iceberg been around?

Scientists say that the iceberg first broke off almost four decades ago in 1986 but Meijers noted how for decades it was confined in a crowded patch of sea ice up until a few years ago.

Is this a common occurrence?

“Large icebergs bump into the shoals around South Georgia more or less every year — it’s a kind of highway for the major icebergs," University of Colorado ice scientist Ted Scambos wrote in an email, as per The Independent.

He noted how this ocean current path has been known since the time of explorer, Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton.

An iceberg seen on NASA's Aqua satellite, known as A23a, center, is visible as it heads toward South Georgia Island, top, on Jan. 15, 2025, off the coast of AntarcticaNASA Worldview via AP

What do experts think could happen?

Experts reckon there are two potential outcomes, either the iceberg - that is 130-foot (40-meter) tall - gets lodged due to the shallow water after slamming into South Georgia or any type of collusion may be avoided completely thanks to a diversion caused by the ocean currents.

We'll have an idea within the next two to four weeks as the iceberg makes its way towards South Georgia.

After this, the iceberg will eventually break up into smaller ones and melt.

How quickly is the iceberg drifting?

In terms of speed, the ice wall is moving one meter every three to seven seconds, so slower than one mile per hour, the oceanographer noted.

How could a possible collusion affect the island?

This concerns the millions of penguins and seals who reside on the remote island and how a potential megaberg collision could impact the island's delicate ecosystem.

(Due to the sheer size of the ice wall, it is not a concern for fishermen in the area as they can clearly see it).

If the mega berg got lodged it could make it trickier for adult penguins who then need to go further into the water to search for food to feed their babies, as this becomes are more difficult task the parents will bring back less food due to burning more energy from having to swim further out and so can “unfortunately can dramatically increase mortality rates" according to Meijers.

“South Georgia is an amazingly ecologically rich island. It’s a breeding ground for a huge number of penguins, millions of penguins and seals,” Meijers said. “There’s lots of pups and chicks and they’re all still dependent on their parents.”

That being said researchers aren't concerned about the ice wall causing damage generally and to penguin populations as a whole.

“The whole ecosystem in the Southern Ocean is very resilient to these events,” Scambos wrote. “It has evolved with these icebergs being a factor for hundreds of thousands of years.”

What is the cause behind this?

Although this is a natural process, human-caused climate change means that this kind of thing is happening more often, says Meijers.

He noted how calving icebergs are normal, but as the planet gets warmer and more freshwater flows into the ocean they are becoming more frequent.

Elsewhere, a massive ocean was discovered beneath the Earth's crust containing more water than on the surface.

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