This is the larsen Ice shelf. It is divided into three by name Larsen A,B & C. Larsen A, the smallest one has already collapsed in 1995 while Larsen B partly collapsed in 2002. Larsen C is the largest one and seems stable but scientists argue that if the current warming trend goes on, this shelf will also disintegrate soon. These are all caused by global warming only as avg temperature around antartics increased by 2.5 degree celsius.The larsen ice shelf B covered a massive area of 3750 sq.km, it was 200 m high and weighed approximately 500 billion tonnes.
Even though the ice shelfs have been melting and breaking up for long time, Larsen B just took within 3 weeks to completely disintegrate and that surprised the scientific community as well.
If an ice shelf breaks up. there will not be any sea level changes sinc
e they themselves are floating on the seas, But if the land ice which is guarded by the ice shelfs come down onto the sea releasing the freshwater, this could cause dramatic increase in the sea level around the world.It could submerge many islands and displace lot of people from countries like Bangladesh, Netherlands and many other low lying countries.
These regions( artics & antartics) are like thermostats to our planet. They control the temperature of the planet by their melt- freeze cycles. In summer they melt releasing large amount of freshwater into the ocean and thus redistributing the heat of the sun and the tropics with all the sea as well as the air currents. If this cycle is disturbed in anyway at all it will have a devastating impact on the global climate pattern which is already changing fast.
More pictures available at
http://www.jonbowermaster.com/photo/gallery/2009-02-larsen_ice/larsen_ice.php#DSC_0112.jpg
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