Breaking the ice

A large section of an ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula has broken away as a possible result of global warming, say scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) based at the University of Colorado, USA. Recent satellite images show that a section about 40 km-long and five km-wide broke off, according to Ted Scambos, research associate at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, an institute sponsored by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NSIDC researchers spotted the event within a few days of its occurrence in late February after analysing images obtained with a radiometer aboard a polar-orbiting NOAA satellite.