Canada’s last intact icy coast breaks

Canada's last intact icy coast breaks

In Canada, the last intact ice shelf broke. An ice shelf is a large sheet of ice that floats on the ocean, but is still attached to ice on the mainland.

According to Canadian ice service expert Adrienne White, about 43 percent of the 4,000-year-old Milne Ice Shelf northwest of Ellsmere Island has broken. White would have happened around July 30 or 31, White said in reference to satellite photos.

Iceberg with 55 sq km

According to the expert, the construction and flow of two huge and many small icebergs has started. The two giants are 70 to 80 meters thick. The largest of these is 55 square kilometers. “If any of them are moving towards an oil rig, there’s not much you can do but take the rig away,” White says. The ice shelf, which was 187 square kilometers in size, has shrunk to 106 square kilometers.

Scientists cite climate change as the reason

According to University of Ottawa glaciology professor Luke Copeland, the area was five degrees Celsius warmer from May to August on average from 1980 to 2010. “Without a doubt, this is climate change,” he said. The ice shelf is melting due to the warm air above it and the warm water below it.

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