New rifts form on Antarctic ice shelf

Scientists have identified new rifts on an Antarctic ice shelf that could lead to it breaking away from the Antarctic Peninsula, the European Space Agency said. a large sheet of floating ice south of South America, is connected to two Antarctic islands by a strip of ice is called the Wilkins ice shelf. A satellite image captured November 26 shows new rifts on the ice shelf that make it dangerously close to breaking away from the strip of ice. Scientists first spotted rifts in the ice shelf in late February, and they noticed further deterioration the following week. Wilkins is the size of the state of Connecticut or about half the area of Scotland. It is the largest ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula yet to be threatened.Scientists say that, if the ice shelf breaks away from the peninsula, it will not cause a rise in sea level, because it is already floating.

Source: (2008, November 29). New rifts form on Antarctic ice shelf. Retrieved November 29, 2008, from www.cnn.com Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/29/antarctic.ice.shelf.collapse/index.html