Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapse Photos

Satellite images show a really dramatic time lapse sequence of the collapse of a portion of Antarctica's Wilkins Ice Shelf...in the middle of winter. It almost takes your breath away, and not in a good way.

The European Space Agency's Envisat satellite revealed that approximately 62 square miles (160 square kilometers) of ice detached from the ice shelf between May 30 and May 31. This most recent loss narrowed the strip to a width of 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers).

The Wilkins Ice Shelf connects the islands of Charcot and Latady and protects many miles of Antarctica's ice shelves from additional collapse.

A trend of "extraordinary warming" over the past 50 years in Antarctica has caused the loss of several ice shelves, Matthias Braun of Bonn University, and Angelika Humbert of Münster University, said in a statement.

The researchers also warned that the last strip of ice on Wilkins would disappear soon.

"The remaining plate has an arched fracture at its narrowest position," they said, "making it very likely that the connection will break completely in the coming days."

Back in late February, early March a piece seven times the size of Manhattan fell into the ocean, this was what experts said then:

David Vaughan of the British Antarctic Survey noted that the larger formation from which the chunk detached—the Wilkins Ice Shelf—could itself collapse in 15 years.

"Wilkins is the largest ice shelf on West Antarctica yet to be threatened," Vaughan said in the statement. "This shelf is hanging by a thread."

As summer in the Southern Hemisphere draws to a close, further disintegration of the shelf seems unlikely, Scambos added.

"But come January, we'll be watching to see if the Wilkins continues to fall apart," he said.

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