"It means the ice shelf is disintegrating, the pieces are pinned together like a jigsaw but could float away," Dr Mueller explained.
According to another scientist on the expedition, Dr Luke Copland of the University of Ottawa, the new cracks fit into a pattern of change in the Arctic.
"We're seeing very dramatic changes; from the retreat of the glaciers, to the melting of the sea ice.
"We had 23% less (sea ice) last year than we've ever had, and what's happening to the ice shelves is part of that picture."
When ice shelves break apart, they drift offshore into the ocean as "ice islands", transforming the very geography of the coastline.
(Via The Keyhoe Report.)
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Vast cracks appear in Arctic ice
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I guess we will find the North West passage after all.
A small benefit of global warming.
Stan
Just a natural cycle of old mother earth.
Post a Comment