Warwick Vincent of Laval University, who studies Arctic conditions saw the new “ice island” first hand.
”It was extraordinary,” he said adding that, “this is a piece of Canadian geography that no longer exists.”
Vincent blamed global climate change and noted that the remaining ice shelves are 90 per cent smaller than they were in 1906.
It is believed that the massive ice shelf that Vincent saw actually broke off in August 2005 and was initially discovered using satellite imaging. It has since traveled west for about 50 km and finally froze into the sea ice in the early winter.
Polar researcher Derek Mueller said, “These ice shelves get weaker and weaker as the temperature rises. And the summer of 2005 had a combination of high temperatures and strong winds that probably blew the sea ice away, making this ice shelf much more vulnerable.”
Mr. Mueller noted that such ice shelves date back more than 3,000 years and loosing them is a sign that the global climate is crossing an unprecedented threshold.
”There are microscopic organisms and entire ecosystems associated with this ice, so we’re loosing a part of Canada’s natural richness.”
While this huge ice shelf is stable for now, it is feared that warming temperatures may cause it to break away from surrounding ice again causing it to travel into populated shipping routes or near oil and gas rigs in the region.
There have been a number of documentaries on television lately about the affects of global warming in the Arctic. My daughter was telling me just yesterday, about one she saw that showed seals and other animals in the Arctic are suffering and even dying, because the ice is melting. She also told me that some species are so confused by the weather conditions in Canada this year, that they’re having babies, which will ultimately die when the severe cold of winter finally does arrive. As well, I read that bears in some areas are no longer hibernating.
It is a strange time for sure and I expect there will be even more changes as global warming continues. The sad part is that there is no turning back at this point. The damage is already being done. Today in Ontario, it is cool, but not cold like it should be at this time of year. We still have no snow on the ground, the sun is shining and the birds are singing.
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Comments: 6
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/05/nosplit/nwarm05.xml
Marsha: That's funny. Hope it never happens though. Come to think of it, we'd get those bears first. Yikes!