Wilkins Update - 1,300 Sq. Miles Of Ice Likely To Collapse In Next Few Weeks - Bigger Than RI

[hatrack]

EDIT

The Wilkins shelf, which is the size of Jamaica, lost 14 percent of its mass last year, according to scientists who are looking at whether global warming is the cause of its breakup. Average temperatures in the Antarctic Peninsula have risen by 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit (2.5 Celsius) over the past 50 years — higher than the average global rise, according to studies.

Over the next several weeks, scientists estimate the Wilkins shelf will lose some 1,300 square miles (3,370 square kilometers) — a piece larger than the state of Rhode Island, or two-thirds the size of Luxembourg.

One researcher said, however, that it was unclear how the situation would evolve. "We are not sure if a new stable ice front will now form between Latady Island, Petrie Ice Rises and Dorsey Island," said Angelika Humbert of Germany's Muenster University Institute of Geophysics. But even more ice could break off "if the connection to Latady Island is lost," she said, "though we have no indication that this will happen in the near future."

In the meantime, researchers said the quality and frequency of the ESA satellite images have allowed them to analyze the Wilkins shelf breakup far more effectively than any previous event. "For the first time, I think, we can really begin to see the processes that have brought about the demise of the ice shelf," Vaughan said.

EDIT

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/hundreds-of-miles-of-ice-drop-from-antarctic-shelf-1676149.html

[phantom power]

1. ESA satellites

United states geosciences research is going to take years to recover from BushCo.

[valerief]

2. Global warming is just a theory, like evolution. The jury is out on it.

It's not a known fact like intelligent design.

:sarcasm:

[Kablooie]

3. I'm waiting for Texas to break off and float away. Will this happen soon?