Antarctic ice shelf breaks away
March 31, 2008
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS), which forms part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), has captured dramatic satellite and video images of an Antarctic ice shelf that looks set to be the latest to break off from the Antarctic Peninsula.
A large part of the Wilkins Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula is now supported only by a thin strip of ice hanging between two islands.
Scientists at the BAS said, "It is another identifiable impact of climate change on the Antarctic environment."
The researchers who have been monitoring satellite images of the Wilkins Ice Shelf spotted that a huge berg, roughly the size of the Isle of Man, appears to have broken away in recent days and is still on the move.
Glaciologist Ted Scambos from the University of Colorado alerted colleagues Professor David Vaughan and Andrew Fleming of the BAS that the ice shelf looked at risk.
After checking daily satellite pictures, BAS sent a Twin Otter aircraft on a reconnaissance mission to check out the extent of the breakout.
Professor Vaughan predicted in 1993 that the northern part of Wilkins Ice Shelf was likely to be lost within 30 years if climate warming on the peninsula were to continue at the same rate.
Commenting on the images, he said, "Wilkins is the largest ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula yet to be threatened. I didn't expect to see things happen this quickly. The ice shelf is hanging by a thread – we'll know in the next few days or weeks what its fate will be."
Some scientists have suggested recently that, instead of proceding at a steady rate, climate change will be characterised by a series of large jumps in temperatures as the planet warms up.
Print this page