If only it WAS Manhattan breaking off and drifting into the Atlantic ... if only. But sadly, it's only ice doing that and far away. But fear not, the liberal Democrats, the morons will attack your SUV's. Like Gore, that arsehole.

Massive Ice Chunk Collapses in Antarctica

By SETH BORENSTEIN,

Posted: 2008-03-25 17:05:33

WASHINGTON (March 25) - A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said Tuesday.

Photo Gallery

British Antarctic Survey

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A huge portion of Antarctic ice -- said to be about seven times the size of Manhattan -- can been seen breaking off above from an even larger portion of glacial ice Tuesday. Scientists said the chunk broke off from the Wilkins Ice Shelf in western Antarctica, and had been there for anywhere between hundreds to 1,500 years.British Antarctic Survey

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The event is another impact of global warming on the Antarctic environment, scientists said. The rest of the Wilkins ice shelf, which is about the size of Connecticut, is holding on by a narrow beam of thin ice which is also in danger of falling apart.National Snow and Ice Data Center

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A March 6 satellite image shows the 160-square-mile disintegration as it begins to collapse.NASA / AP

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In 2002, a large floating ice mass on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula shattered and separated from the continent, above. That, along with another ice break in 1995, was larger and more dramatic than the one that happened Tuesday. Sources: AP, nsidc.org

Satellite images show the runaway disintegration of a 160-square-mile chunk in western Antarctica, which started Feb. 28. It was the edge of the Wilkins ice shelf and has been there for hundreds, maybe 1,500 years.

This is the result of global warming, said British Antarctic Survey scientist David Vaughan.

Because scientists noticed satellite images within hours, they diverted satellite cameras and even flew an airplane over the ongoing collapse for rare pictures and video.

"It's an event we don't get to see very often," said Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo. "The cracks fill with water and slice off and topple... That gets to be a runaway situation."

While icebergs naturally break away from the mainland, collapses like this are unusual but are happening more frequently in recent decades, Vaughan said. The collapse is similar to what happens to hardened glass when it is smashed with a hammer, he said.

The rest of the Wilkins ice shelf, which is about the size of Connecticut, is holding on by a narrow beam of thin ice. Scientists worry that it too may collapse. Larger, more dramatic ice collapses occurred in 2002 and 1995.

Vaughan had predicted the Wilkins shelf would collapse about 15 years from now.

Scientists said they are not concerned about a rise in sea level from the latest event, but say it's a sign of worsening global warming.

Such occurrences are "more indicative of a tipping point or trigger in the climate system," said Sarah Das, a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2008-03-25 15:04:23

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876 comments

luvshoppin415 09:07:46 PM Mar 25 2008

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chill ya'll...

craigwied 09:07:39 PM Mar 25 2008

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BS, you're still trying to ram this crap down our throats. Al Gore you suck! Al Gore, you are obviously a moron. Check his academic grades, he took two. Both likely gut courses for arseholes like him. His grades? a c minus and a d. And this arsehole is telling us that we are cooling?

murphy55869 09:07:30 PM Mar 25 2008

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Whether global warming is fact or fiction, one fact remains, we DO NOT have an unlimited supply of natural resources. We need to start thinking about this more seriously. We have the technology to make better, cleaner vehicles, create power for the populations of the earth without burning something, and to recycle more than we are. The sooner we start using the technology to keep our world and ourselves clean and healthier, the sooner future generations have a world to grow up in. I am not a tree hugger, but I am concerned about our world and us.

tandlarr 09:07:13 PM Mar 25 2008

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i am glad that our next president, johm mccain, knows global warming is a problem.

cruisewright 09:07:01 PM Mar 25 2008

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This year throughout the world the climate has been seasonably cold with records being set accross the continent. I am supprised a scientist would be so quick to blame global warming when the rift of ice could have split from simple contraction from rapid cooling, I would be willing to bet that this ice is not symmetrical with an even distribution of weight. As glaciers move ice breaks.
I do submit that China and India are having impact on climate by trashing the air with huge amounts of pollution. The world needs to focus on stopping this trend before we are all affected.

rpewter55 09:06:52 PM Mar 25 2008

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pretender....if it's too late to fix what we have "done" why should we bother "opening our eyes"

iamcrazyshannon 09:06:47 PM Mar 25 2008

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I just left a Global Warming in the bathroom

jjreb50 09:06:46 PM Mar 25 2008

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Here's the latest from all those scientist's who claim that the earth is heating up. The earth's temperature has been stable and static since 2004 and now, they say, it is getting cooler. How will the global warming doom and gloom crowd spin this?

loveman62481 09:06:37 PM Mar 25 2008

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they say global warming lol its a bunch of !!!! and if it is the government does 65% of it read up on (chemical trails)

mykeny33 09:06:21 PM Mar 25 2008

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rdwsmd 09:03:42 PM Mar 25 2008
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SirBobby,

Global warming is not a FALLACY.......tell that to the inhabitants of Antarctica, who are losing habitat faster than nature can refreeze and replenish it. (And try not to use large words you can't spell.)
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Check the ravings of the moron above. Does this arsehole have a scientific degree? You guess. But mentally ill people are everywhere, they like to rave. Like above.