Environment
The World Is About to Lose a 10,000-Year-Old Ice Shelf
That could accelerate the rise of sea levels, says NASA.
In the winter of 2002, a massive Antarctic ice shelf known as Larsen B suffered a catastrophic collapse. Over the course of weeks about 1,250 square miles of frozen material broke off and slid into the ocean. NASA reported it had “never witnessed such a large area … disintegrate so rapidly.”
Satellites caught the fast-warming continent’s stunning breakdown, which scientists believe was caused by a rash of abnormally hot summers. Here’s the ice shelf in January: