Scientists Stunned As Larsen B Ice Shelf Disappears

“An area of ice thought to weigh almost 500 million billion tonnes has broken off the Antarctic continent and shattered into thousands of icebergs in one of the most dramatic examples yet of the effects of climate change. Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey said yesterday the speed of the complete disintegration of the 200-metre thick, 3,250 square kilometre Larsen B iceshelf was ‘staggering’ They had predicted the collapse of the continent’s northernmost ice shelf four years ago following evidence of the retreat of many glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula, but the nal break up of the whole shelf took just 31 days and has shocked glaciologists with its scale and speed.