Scientists Discover Network of Cracks on Arctic Ice Cap

Need more evidence that the Arctic ice cap is slowly going the way of the once lush savannas of the Sahara? BBC Environment Correspondent David Shukman traveling with a team of scientists and Canadian troops during a recent expedition on Ward Hunt, bore witness to the discovery of several major new fractures stretching for more than 10 miles (16 km).

Scientists traveling with the troops found major new fractures during an assessment of the state of giant ice shelves in Canada's far north. The fate of the vast ice blocks is seen as a key indicator of climate change.

Shukman reported that Derek Mueller of Trent University, one of the accompanying scientists, described the ice shelf as being held together "like a jigsaw"; the shelf's "pieces are pinned together" and could "float away" at any moment -- forming "ice islands" and dramatically changing the region's geography.


"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.

After the record Arctic melting last year, all eyes are now on what happens to the sea ice this summer.
Although its maximum extent last winter was slightly greater than the year before, it was still below the long-term average.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7417123.stm

Comments

[Scott]

Anyone seen the movie Groundhog Day? (sigh) I sit in my artic shack waiting for the end. They say it is coming....there is no defense. and so on and so on.
Lets all change our tune. Global warming is GOOD. It will force a new direction of our species. At the least it will reduce the global population. Too harsh? How about this.....massive global warming will put civilization at risk and all efforts must be directed to preserving a core of science and civilization so we as a species can continue. Better?