A HUGE ICE ISLAND which has broken off a glacier in Greeland has been described as “very unusual” by scientists. The island is 100 square miles, and about 600 feet thick.
The island is believed to be the largest such formation in 48 years. It broke off the Petermann Glacier on Thursday and is drifting in the Nares Strait, between Canada and Greeland.
Independent scientists on board a Greenpeace ship in the region last year predicted serious ice breaks from the glacier. They said that 5 billion tonnes of ice was set to fall from the huge glacier. Dr Alan Hubbard said that warming currents were eroding the glacier at an “incredible rate”.
Greenpeace says that global warming is accelerating the melting action, but scientists dispute the link between global warming and the ice island because records have not been kept for long enough.
This video shows scientists discussing the Petermann Glacier:
Video footage of the glacier from overhead:
