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Mar 26 2008

Antarctic ice shelf breaking
up

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By
Agencies

An
increase in ice melt in polar regions is a contributor to
rising sea levels across the world [AFP]

A section of Antarctica's largest
ice shelf is disintegrating, satellite images have shown and global
warming is thought to be the cause.

An iceberg measuring 41km by 2.4km broke off the southwestern
front of the Wilkins ice shelf on February 28, images obtained by
the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center
(NSIDC) showed.

That led to further disintegration of
the shelf's interior, of which 414 square km has already
disappeared.

As a result, a large part of the 12,950
square km shelf is now supported by a 5.6km strip of ice between two
islands, Ted Scambos, the NSIDC's lead scientist, said in a
statement.

"If there is a little bit more retreat, this
last 'ice buttress' could collapse and we'd likely lose about half
the total ice shelf area in the next few years," he
said.

Ice melt

The
western Antarctic Peninsula has experienced the biggest temperature
increase on Earth over the last 50 years, with a rise of 0.5 degrees
Celsius (0.9 degrees Farenheit) per decade.

"We believe the Wilkins has been in place for at least a few
hundred years, but warm air and exposure to ocean waves are causing
a breakup," Scambos said.

Scientists do not expect the ice shelf to further disintegrate in
the next few months, due to the Antarctic summer drawing to a
close.

"This unusual show is over for this season… But come January,
we'll be watching to see if the Wilkins continues to fall apart,"
Scambos said.

More than 13,000 square km of ice shelves, which float at the
coastal regions of the thicker Antarctica ice sheet, have broken up
over the past half-century.

Six ice shelves have completely disintegrated in the past 30
years.

The break-up of the ice shelves has not significantly increased
sea levels as they are already floating.

But scientists warn that continued disintegration of Antarctic
ice shelves could threaten the thicker ice sheet, risking a
significant increase in the level of the world's oceans.

According to calculations, the present rise in sea levels by
three millimetres per year could increase to 1.4 metres by the end
of the century.

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Tags:  Antarctic

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