BOULDER, Colo., March 26 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers have used satellite imagery to determine a large part of the Antarctic ice shelf is disintegrating as result of climate change.
Scientists at the University of Colorado-Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center said satellite pictures show a 160-square-mile portion of Antarctica's massive Wilkins Ice Shelf has begun to collapse because of rapid climate change in a fast-warming region of the continent.
While the area of collapse involves 160 square miles, a large part of the 5,000-square-mile ice shelf is now supported only by a narrow strip of ice between two islands, said Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the NSIDC. "If there is a little bit more retreat, this last 'ice buttress' could collapse and we'd likely lose about half the total ice shelf area in the next few years."
During the past 50 years, the western Antarctic Peninsula has experienced the biggest temperature increase on Earth, rising by 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit per decade, the researchers said.
The satellite images indicate the Wilkins Ice Shelf began its collapse Feb. 28.
