NASA Satellite Spots Mile-Long Iceberg Breaking Off of Antarctic Glacier – Live Science

pineisland_oli_2017026Article Synopsis – According NASA satellite images, a massive, 1-mile-long chunk of ice has broken off Antarctica’s fast-changing Pine Island Glacier. The Pine Island Glacier is one of the largest glaciers within the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, accounting for about 20 percent of the ice sheet’s total ice flow to the ocean. In recent years, the ice sheet has been quickly retreating and losing massive amounts of ice, and more icebergs may break off of the Pine Island Glacier in the near future. Warmer ocean waters are causing the Antarctic ice shelf to break from the inside out. As such, scientists expect further calving along the glacier and have warned that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could collapse within the next 100 years. To read the actual article click here.

 

By Sharon Gray February 18, 2017 Newsletter