"Vast Antarctic Ice Shelf a Few Years From Disintegration, Says NASA"

"Remnant of Larsen B Ice Shelf, about half the size of Rhode Island, is expected to break apart completely around the year 2020, adding to sea level rises".

"The last intact section of one of Antarctica’s mammoth ice shelves is weakening fast and will likely disintegrate completely in the next few years, contributing further to rising sea levels, according to a Nasa study released on Thursday.

The research focused on a remnant of the so-called Larsen B Ice Shelf, which has existed for at least 10,000 years but partially collapsed in 2002. What is left covers about 625 sq miles (1,600 sq km), about half the size of Rhode Island.

Antarctica has dozens of ice shelves – massive, glacier-fed floating platforms of ice that hang over the sea at the edge of the continent’s coast line. The largest is roughly the size of France."

Alex Dobuzinskis reports for Reuters May 15, 2015.

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"Thinning Antarctic Ice Shelf Could Contribute To Sea Level Rise, Says Study" (Guardian)