The Antarctic ice shelves continue to break up at an alarming rate, according to new data presented by the British Antarctic Survey and the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Centre. The Larsen B and Wilkins shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula are "in full retreat", having lost almost 3,000 square km of their total area last year, based on satellite photo studies.
The Wilkins has retreated 35km. from its position last year. The researchers note that these shelves have been melting away for 50 years but in that time lost only about 7,000 square km. Mean annual temperatures have gone up in the region by about 2.5Celsius since the 1940s.