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EDITORS' BLOG

Last Updated: Tuesday, 25 March 2008,
16:55 GMT

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Antarctic shelf 'hangs by thread'

By Helen Briggs

Science reporter, BBC News

The Antarctic Peninsula is one of the fastest
warming places on Earth

Flyover of the breaking ice shelf

A chunk of ice the size of
the Isle of Man has started to break away from Antarctica in what
scientists say is further evidence of a warming climate.

Satellite images suggest that part of the ice shelf is
disintegrating, and will soon crumble away.

The Wilkins Ice Shelf has been stable for most of the last
century, but began retreating in the 1990s.

Six ice shelves in the same part of the continent have already
been lost, says the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

Professor David Vaughan of BAS 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."

'Like an explosion'

BAS researchers were alerted to the break-up by daily monitoring
of satellite images. They sent a Twin Otter aircraft on a
reconnaissance mission to video what was happening.

This is yet another indication of
climate change in the Antarctic Peninsula and how it is
affecting the environment

Prof David Vaughan

Jim Elliott, who was on board the plane, said he had never seen
anything like it before.

He said: "We flew along the main crack and observed the sheer
scale of movement from the breakage.

"Big hefty chunks of ice, the size of small houses, look as
though they've been thrown around like rubble - it's like an
explosion."

A 41-by-2.5km (25-by-1.6 mile) berg appears to be breaking away,
with much of the Wilkins Ice Shelf protected only by a thin strip of
ice spanning two islands.

Since an ice shelf is a floating platform of ice, the break-up
will have no impact on sea level. But scientists say it heightens
concerns over the impact of climate change on this part of
Antarctica.

'Unprecedented' warming

Professor Vaughan predicted in 1993 that the northern part of the
Wilkins Ice Shelf would be lost within 30 years if climate warming
continued. But he said it is happening more quickly than he
expected.

He told BBC News:
"What we're actually seeing is a chunk of the ice shelf drop off in
a way that suggests it is not just a normal part of iceberg
formation.

"This is not a sea level rise issue, but is yet another
indication of climate change in the Antarctic Peninsula and how it
is affecting the environment."

Scientists say the Antarctic Peninsula, which juts out into the
Southern Ocean towards the tip of South America, has experienced
unprecedented warming over the last 50 years.

Several ice shelves have retreated in the past 30 years - six of
them collapsing completely.

Other researchers believe the Wilkins Ice Shelf may hang on a
little longer, as Antarctica's summer melt season draws to a close.

Dr Ted Scambos of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the
University of Colorado said: "This unusual show is over for this
season. But come January, we'll be watching to see if the Wilkins
continues to fall apart."

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VIDEO AND AUDIO NEWS
Huge
chunk of polar ice shelf breaking up

SEE ALSO

Antarctic
glaciers surge to ocean
24 Feb
08 |  Science/Nature

Big ice
shelf's disappearing act
04 Dec
06 |  Science/Nature

Slow
extraction for icy 'tooth'
06 Dec
05 |  Science/Nature

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