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A massive ice besg over 40 kilometres long has started to break away from Antarctica in what scientists say is further evidence of global warming.
The BBC reports that satellite images, which are monitored daily, show that part of the Wilkins Ice Shelf is disintegrating, and will soon crumble away.
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) says six ice shelves in the same part of the continent have already been lost, but Wilkins is the largest ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula yet to be threatened.
Professor David Vaughan of BAS says the ice shelf is hanging by a thread and they will know in the next few days or weeks what its fate will be.
Professor Vaughan predicted in 1993 that the northern part of the Wilkins Ice Shelf would be lost within 30 years if climate warming continued, but he says it is happening faster than he expected.
The satellite images show that a 41 kilometre by 2.5 kilometre berg appears to be breaking away, with much of the Wilkins Ice Shelf protected only by a thin strip of ice spanning two islands.
Since an ice shelf is a floating platform of ice, the break-up will have no impact on sea level. But scientists say it heightens concerns over the impact of climate change on this part of Antarctica.
(c) NewsRoom 2008
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