Huge Arctic Ice Chunk Breaks Off

DeSmogBlog has a link to today's Toronto Globe and Mail story, "Huge chunk snaps off storied Arctic ice shelf":

A four-square-kilometre chunk has broken off Ward Hunt Ice Shelf - the largest remaining ice shelf in the Arctic - threatening the future of the giant frozen mass that northern explorers have used for years as the starting point for their treks.

Scientists say the break, the largest on record since 2005, is the latest indication that climate change is forcing the drastic reshaping of the Arctic coastline, where 9,000 square kilometres of ice have been whittled down to less than 1,000 over the past century, and are only showing signs of decreasing further.

The AP and Reuters, and The Canadian Press also have stories on the subject.

Satellite evidence of large cracks in the ice shelf was confirmed in April when a team of scientists and Canadian Rangers observed that the shelf had fractured into three main pieces.