William Atkins
Saturday, 04 April 2009 18:54
Science -
Climate
Page 1 of 2
According to the ESA Envisat satellite, an ice bridge connecting the Wilkins Ice Shelf to Charcot Island on the Antarctic Peninsula is at high risk of breaking away. Scientists are investigating to see if climatic warming of Earth's South Polar region is to blame.
The European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Envisat satellite has its eye on the Ice Shelf, making updates of its position within Wilkins Sound on the western portion of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Envisat, short for Environmental Satellite, is an Earth-observation satellite that was launched on March 1, 2002, by the ESA.
It orbits the Earth at about 790 kilometers (475 miles) above the Earth’s surface in a Sun synchronous polar orbit (that is, it passes over the same spot on the Earth at the same time each day).
For the past five months or so, the satellite has observed new rifts on the Ice Shelf that appear to signal the eventual demise of the ice bridge.
According to the March 3, 2009 Associated Press article
Ice shelf about to break away from Antarctic coast, as it referred to an ESA report:
"’The beginning of what appears to be the demise of the ice bridge began this week when new rifts’ appeared and a large block of ice broke away….”
If such a breaking up of the bridge occurs, it could spell the end of the Wilkins Ice Shelf, which is located between the western coastline of Alexander Island and Charcot Island and Latady Island, further to the west.
Page two contains the website to see images of the Wilkins Ice Shelf from the Envisat "Webcam" high above the Earth.
