Antarctic ice shelf collapses
Posted by Jacque on March 26th, 2008
In addition to being a satellite photo junky, I recently traveled to the bottom of South America, rounding Cape Horn, though not going farther south to Antarctica. Hence my interest in the news about an Antarctic ice shelf collapsing much earlier than predicted, giving rise to increased fears about the pace of global warming. I did my own “sightseeing” trip to view the results. The Guardian (U.K.) has the story. (for video only look here).
You’ll find additional news and satellite images, such as the ones shown here, at the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
The huge chunk (160 square miles) of floating ice that was part of the 5,600 square mile Wilkins ice shelf collapsed twice as fast as earlier predicted, leaving the future of the rest of the shelf in doubt.
“The ice shelf is hanging by a thread,” said Professor David Vaughan of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). “We’ll know in the next few days or weeks what its fate will be.”
Jim Elliott, who filmed part of the breakup, said, “It was awesome. We flew along the main crack and observed the sheer scale of movement from the breakage. Big chunks of ice, the size of small houses, look as though they’ve been thrown around like rubble — it’s like an explosion.”
The Wilkins shelf is farther south than six other ice shelves that have already been entirely lost, so it should have been better protected by colder temperatures. “It is another indication of the impact that climate change is having on the region,” Vaughan said.
