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 19 July 2008 08:24 BST

Satellites spot vast iceberg breaking away from Antarctica

Wednesday, 26 Mar 2008 11:08
The Wilkins Ice Shelf captured by the BAS

Science In Focus 

An iceberg the size of the Isle of Man has broken away from the Antarctic Peninsula, according to data from satellite images.

A large part of the Wilkins Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula is now supported only by a thin strip of ice.

Scientists say the breakout is another identifiable impact of climate change on the Antarctic environment.

They do not expect it to increase sea levels however as the ice is floating already.

After checking daily satellite pictures for the progress of the ice shelf breakout, scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) sent an aircraft on a reconnaissance mission to determine the extent of the breakout.

Jim Elliott, who was onboard the aircraft to capture video of the breakout, said: "I've never seen anything like this before – it was awesome.

"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."

Professor David Vaughn at the BAS predicted in 1993 that the northern part of the Wilkins Ice Shelf was likely to be lost within 30 years if climate change continued unchecked.

"Wilkins is the largest ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula yet to be threatened. I didn't expect to see things happen this quickly," he commented.

"The ice shelf is hanging by a thread – we'll know in the next few days or weeks what its fate will be."
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