Arctic Ice Shelves Breaking Up
26.05.2008 - Other
An expedition conducted by the Canadian military has reported to the BBC vast new fractures in the ice shelves along the Arctic coast. This raises new concerns on the state of the Arctic sea ice this summer and on the effects of climate change.
The team of Canadians detected major fractures along the country's far north during an ice shelf assessment expedition. Some of these cracks stretched out more than 16 km on Ward Hunt, the largest ice shelf in the area.
"It means the ice shelf is disintegrating, the pieces are pinned together like a jigsaw but could float away", says Dr. Derek Mueller from Trent University in Ontario.
Scientists believe the disintegration of these ice shelves fits into the wider ongoing trend of climate change impacts in the Arctic. Last year, sea ice extent in the Arctic was 23 % lower than the long-term average minimum low. All eyes are now turned towards this summer's sea ice conditions.
