This occurred after this article appeared in the BBC News (see below):
Thursday, 27 December, 2001, 20:16 GMT
Low probability of ice collapse (click here)
Low probability of ice collapse (click here)
By Christine McGourty, science correspondent, in the Antarctic
Scientists think there is just a one in 20 chance that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) will collapse in the next 200 years.
More data on the ice sheet is urgently required to be more certain about the future of the ice sheet and possible future sea-level rises
Dr David Vaughan, Bas The integrity of the WAIS is crucial to future sea levels; if all the ice melts in this region of the White Continent, it could raise the oceans by several metres.
The 5% probability of disintegration has been worked out by researchers commissioned by the British Government. Their work will be published in the journal Climate Change next month.
It is the first time a risk assessment of a WAIS collapse has been attempted....
Scientists think there is just a one in 20 chance that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) will collapse in the next 200 years.
More data on the ice sheet is urgently required to be more certain about the future of the ice sheet and possible future sea-level rises
Dr David Vaughan, Bas The integrity of the WAIS is crucial to future sea levels; if all the ice melts in this region of the White Continent, it could raise the oceans by several metres.
The 5% probability of disintegration has been worked out by researchers commissioned by the British Government. Their work will be published in the journal Climate Change next month.
It is the first time a risk assessment of a WAIS collapse has been attempted....
Now, fast forward past the collapse of the Larsen B and following an extremely warm climate in Antarctica this year. I tracked it right here on this blog. The Wilkins Ice Sheet has collapsed in images released today. Bush stated in 2003, "There is no such thing as global warming and carbon dioxide could never be a toxic gas." Really? Does anyone doubt the Wilkins Ice Sheet will completely collapse? If you still don't 'GET IT' then it's because you were educated under "NO Child Left Behind !"
While the area of collapse involves 160 square miles at present, a large part of the 5,000-square-mile Wilkins Ice Shelf is now supported only by a narrow strip of ice between two islands, said CU-Boulder's Ted Scambos, lead scientist at 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." ...
Global warming blamed for ice shelf collapse (click here)
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 26/03/2008
An ice shelf of 5,000 square miles in western Antarctica has started to collapse, scientists said.
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 26/03/2008
An ice shelf of 5,000 square miles in western Antarctica has started to collapse, scientists said.
The disintegration of the Wilkins ice sheet, the largest on the Antarctic Peninsula to be threatened, is more evidence of rapid climate change on the continent, they claimed.
Satellite images from the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre show the rapid disintegration of the Wilkins ice shelf
The British Antarctic Survey said the ice shelf was "hanging by a thread".
Satellite images from the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre showed an iceberg measuring 25.5 miles by 1.5 miles - the size of the Isle of Man - broke off last month.
A large section of the sheet, a broad plate of permanent floating ice around 1,000 miles south of South America, is now held together by a four-mile strip of ice.
The collapse of the shelf had been predicted, but is happening more quickly than expected, scientists said. It is thought the warming of the atmosphere, which has been happening several times faster on the Antarctic Peninsula than the global average, has melted more surface ice, which is weakening the shelf....
Satellite images from the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre show the rapid disintegration of the Wilkins ice shelf
The British Antarctic Survey said the ice shelf was "hanging by a thread".
Satellite images from the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre showed an iceberg measuring 25.5 miles by 1.5 miles - the size of the Isle of Man - broke off last month.
A large section of the sheet, a broad plate of permanent floating ice around 1,000 miles south of South America, is now held together by a four-mile strip of ice.
The collapse of the shelf had been predicted, but is happening more quickly than expected, scientists said. It is thought the warming of the atmosphere, which has been happening several times faster on the Antarctic Peninsula than the global average, has melted more surface ice, which is weakening the shelf....
