Pebblesbysea

A news report from International Herald Tribune

A giant ice shelf has snapped free from an island south of the North Pole, scientists said Thursday, citing climate change as a “major” reason for the event.

The Ayles Ice Shelf — 66 square kilometers (41 square miles) of it — broke clear 16 months ago from the coast of Ellesmere Island, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) south of the North Pole in the Canadian Arctic.

Scientists discovered the event by using satellite imagery. Within one hour of breaking free, the shelf had formed as a new ice island, leaving a trail of icy boulders floating in its wake.

Warwick Vincent of Laval University, who studies Arctic conditions, traveled to the newly formed ice island and was amazed at the sight.

“This is a dramatic and disturbing event. It shows that we are losing remarkable features of the Canadian North that have been in place for many thousands of years,” Vincent said. “We are crossing climate thresholds, and these may signal the onset of accelerated change ahead.”

The ice shelf was one of six major shelves remaining in Canada’s Arctic. They are packed with ancient ice that is more than 3,000 years old. They float on the sea but are connected to land.

Some scientists say it is the largest event of its kind in Canada in 30 years and that climate change was a major element.

“It is consistent with climate change,” Vincent said, adding that the remaining ice shelves are 90 percent smaller than when they were first discovered in 1906. “We aren’t able to connect all of the dots … but unusually warm temperatures definitely played a major role.”

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A collection of facts from Pebblesbysea:

• Dolphins make different types of underwater sounds. The three well-known sounds are their whistles, clicks, and burst pulses.
• The amount of fish harvested in the world is more than that of cattle, sheep, poultry or eggs.
• The biggest source of protein in the whole world is fish.
• There are 33 species of pinnipeds (meaning “wing-” or “fin-footed”) which consists of 13 true seals, 14 eared seals (sea lions and fur seals), and 1 walrus. In the scientific community, there are many debates concerning the ancestry of eared and true seals.
• Some scientists believe that eared seals and walruses may have evolved 30 million years ago from bear-like creatures in the North Pacific, and that seals evolved from otter-like carnivores in the North Atlantic.
• Blood vessels of blue whale are as big as a small car.
• Swimming speed of penguins can be as much as 90 KMPH.
• Horseshoe crabs have not changed their form for nearly 135 million years.
• Turtles are older than the age of reptiles when their ancestors shared the world with dinosaurs. Turtles are cold blooded and live only in the warmer parts of the world. Unlike tortoises marine turtles have flatter and lighter shell and they use front and rear flippers for swimming.
• A great white shark can live as long as three months without eating anything.
• Sea turtles when resting can remain underwater without breathing for as long as 2 hours. Otherwise they need to come to the surface every few minutes.
• Sharks are omnivorous, they eat both meat and vegetation. If there is not an abundant supply of meat, they will eat sea vegetation. The largest shark the Whale Shark is mainly a plankton feeder.
• Sharks do not have bones. They are made up of cartilage, and are called Elasmobranches, which means fish made of cartilaginous tissues. Even though they do not have bones they still can fossilize.

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