We've been dreading this moment for months. This doesn't look so good:
An ice bridge linking a shelf of ice the size of Jamaica to two islands in Antarctica has snapped.
Scientists say the collapse could mean the Wilkins Ice Shelf is on the brink of breaking away, and provides further evidence of rapid change in the region.
Sited on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula, the Wilkins shelf has been retreating since the 1990s.
Researchers regarded the ice bridge as an important barrier, holding the remnant shelf structure in place.
Its removal will allow ice to move more freely between Charcot and Latady islands, into the open ocean.
European Space Agency satellite pictures had indicated last week that cracks were starting to appear in the bridge. Newly created icebergs were seen to be floating in the sea on the western side of the peninsula, which juts up from the continent towards South America's southern tip.- BBC
This region has been warming quite quickly over the past 50 years, and this development is one of the more prominant retreats/collapses that has taken place. What is particularly troubling is that world governments aren't actually taking this accelerated pace of melting into consideration, at least not with the last UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 2007.
Scary thought. With economic issues on the front burner, and G20 meetings largely ignoring important issues like this, I wonder where we will be come later this year in Copenhagen... besides more gigantic ice cubes floating around our oceans anyway.
Other related stories:
Antarctic Ice Shelf Hanging By a Thread: What it Means to YOU
Will the Gulf Stream Collapse?
