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In this fairly terrifying report from BBC, large cracks are shown to be appearing in some of the oldest ice in the shelf.
“One of the expedition’s scientists, Derek Mueller of Trent University, Ontario, told me: “I was astonished to see these new cracks.
“It means the ice shelf is disintegrating, the pieces are pinned together like a jigsaw but could float away,” Dr Mueller explained.
According to another scientist on the expedition, Dr Luke Copland of the University of Ottawa, the new cracks fit into a pattern of change in the Arctic.
“We’re seeing very dramatic changes; from the retreat of the glaciers, to the melting of the sea ice.
“We had 23% less (sea ice) last year than we’ve ever had, and what’s happening to the ice shelves is part of that picture.”
When ice shelves break apart, they drift offshore into the ocean as “ice islands”, transforming the very geography of the coastline. ”