Giant Ayles Ice Island broken in two -far ealier than expected
2/10/2007 BBC In a season of record summer melting in the region, the two chunks have moved rapidly through the water – one of them covering 98km (61 miles) in a week. The original Manhattan-sized berg (16km by five km; 10 miles by three miles) broke off the Ayles Ice Shelf in 2005. “It’s relatively unusual for the ice island to drift so far south so quickly – many ice islands in the past have stayed within the Arctic Ocean, or within the northern parts of the Queen Elizabeth Islands.” And his conclusion is clear: unlike ice islands which in the past might have lasted in the Arctic Ocean for 50 years or more, this one is destined to be shorter-lived. “Ultimately, the ice island should break up faster because of the warmer temperatures – I’d be surprised if it lasted more than a decade or so.” The team which landed on the Ayles ice block in May found it to have an average thickness of 42-45m (138-148ft) – the equivalent of the height of a 10-storey building. The great mass of ice has now split apart. Arctic sea-ice shrank to the smallest area on record this year, as measured by satellite. The figure shattered all previous satellite surveys, including the previous record low of 5.32 million sq km measured in 2005.
For graphics Go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7022192.stm