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Satellite images show alarming ice shelf breakdown in Antarctica

If you had any doubts about global warming and the disastrous impact that it would have on earth’s future, here is one of the best and most vivid example to convince you that if we do not buckle the trend, then we will most likely buckle under the weight of world’s oceans. We do not entertain hypothetical doomsday prediction and neither are we making one. But if polar ice caps in both the Arctic and the Antarctic (more so Down South) continue to melt at the rate they are, then it might not be long before life mimics art (Hollywood). Envisat, a satellite that has been monitoring the Larsen B ice shelf in Antarctica for the past decade gives you pictures that are undeniable proof of human impact on the polar ice caps.

Satellite observes rapid ice shelf disintegration in Antarctic

Larsen Ice shelf is a series of three ice shelves that stretch from north to south along the eastern side of the Antarctica. The smallest of the three Larsen A has disintegrated way back in 1995 and Larsen C is still mostly stable, despite early signs of warmer temperature affecting its melting cycle in summer. But Larsen B, which is the one Envisat, has been keeping a close eye on since March 1, 2002 has slowly but surely receded and shrunk in the last decade. The ice shelf that spread across 11512 sq km in 1995 now is limited to just 3463 sq km and even that might not stay around for long.

Scientists claim that the Antarctic Peninsula has warmed up by 2.5 degrees Celsius in the last 50 years and that is a figure which is lot higher than in any other part of the globe. The adat, along with the pictures from Envisat conclusively prove that the poles are a lot more sensitive and far more vulnerable to global warming than any other regions of the planet. Envisat will continue to stay in orbit till 2013 after which ‘Sentinels’ from Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) will take over. It might not be too long after the departure of Envisat, that Larsen B could also vanish!

Via: ESA

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