Collapse of Ice Bridge puts Antarctic ice shelf in peril
An ice bridge linking the Wilkins ice shelf to two islands in Antarctica has
collapsed, triggering warnings that climate change is having
a clear impact on the region.
A satellite picture from the European Space Agency (ESA)
shows that a 40 km long strip of ice holding the Wilkins in
place had splintered at its narrowest point, about 500 meters
wide.
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| The Wilkins shelf, which is the size of Jamaica, has been
retreating since the 1990s. It is one of many Antarctic ice
shelves that have begun to break up over the past few decades
and it is part of the Antarctic Peninsula, which has seen
some of the most dramatic temperature increases in the area
- up to 3 degrees, according to Elaine Baker of UNEP GRID-Arendal's
Shelf Programme.
Christian Lambrechts, a Policy and Programme Officer with
UNEP's Division of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA), warned
that the development was significant: "Although the Wilkins
Ice Bridge collapse will have no direct consequence on sea
level rise, it might have an indirect impact, as the decay
of the ice shelf will reduce the stability of the glaciers
that are feeding it," he said.
"The collapse of the Ice Bridge will expose a new expanse
of sea surfaces that absorb an increased amount of solar radiation,
contributing to continued and accelerated warming," he
added.
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According to research conducted in March 2009 by the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) for the International Polar
Year (IPY), warming of the Antarctic is much more widespread
than previously known. The research found that a freshening
of the bottom water near Antarctica is consistent with increased
ice melt from that continent that could affect ocean circulation.
Indeed, the loss of the Wilkins ice bridge, jutting about
20 meters out of the water and which was almost 100 km wide
in 1950, may now allow ocean currents to wash away far more
of the shelf.
A 2008 report released by UNEP and the World Glacial Monitoring
Service (WGMS) showed that the average rate of glacial melting
and thinning more than doubled between the years 2004-2005
and 2005-2006. The estimates, based on measuring the thickness
of glacier ice, indicated an average loss of around 1.5 metres
in 2006, up from just over half a metre in 2005.
Press Release UNEP
Main Art sourced from unep.org
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