A portion of the Wilkins Ice Shelf the size of New York city has begun to breakinto icebergs following the recent collapse of a land bridge.The ice shelf is located on the Antarctic Peninsula that extends out towardsthe southern tip of South America. The land bridge connecting the Wilkins IceShelf to Charcot Island collapsed in early April.
The first of the icebergs began breaking off on Friday and this trend willcontinue for several weeks, according to the European Space Agency.
The recent fragmentation of the northern part of the ice shelf is an indicationthat the entire mass is unstable, according to the ESA.
This ice shelf is not the first in Antarctica to break away from the mainland.
More than half a dozen major portions of ice similar in size have already doneso.
This recent Antarctic land movement is argued to be caused by global climatechange.
By AccuWeather.com News Correspondent Gina Cherundolo
