Wilkins Ice Shelf Suffers Large Antarctic Ice Collapse

The Wilkins ice shelf had a large chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapse on Tuesday, putting an even greater chunk of ice in jeopardy of following it.

Satellite images show the collapse of a 160-square-mile chunk in western Antarctica, which started Feb. 28. The chunk of Antarctic ice was the edge of the Wilkins ice shelf and has been there for as many as 1,500 years.

"This is the result of global warming," said British Antarctic Survey scientist David Vaughan

Vaughan said the effects of global warming are the likely reason for this unusual collapse. Scientists say that collapses like this are not normal, but have happened more recently due to global warming.

The rest of the Wilkins ice shelf, which is about the size of Connecticut, is holding on by a narrow beam of thin ice. Scientists worry that it too may collapse. Larger, more dramatic ice collapses occurred in 2002 and 1995.

Vaughan had predicted the Wilkins shelf would collapse about 15 years from now.

Follow the link for more Scientific News