The Wilkins Ice Shelf is an area of huge, thick ice on the southwest Antarctic Peninsula. It is about one thousand miles south of South America.

        The satellite images came from America's National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado. The images show the ice began moving away from the ice shelf on February twenty-eighth. After seeing the pictures, scientists flew over the area. They saw huge pieces of broken ice floating in all directions.

        A large part of the Wilkins Ice Shelf is now being supported by a thin piece of ice. Some scientists say the ice shelf could completely break up within a few years. However, it is expected to survive until next year because summer is now ending in Antarctica.
The Arctic Peninsula has experienced warming conditions over the past half century. Several ice shelves have collapsed during the past thirty years. Six of them have collapsed completely. 

        Ice shelves float on seawater, but are connected to land. They are made of fresh water that once fell as snow. 
        Scientists believe the recent activity in the Wilkins Ice Shelf will not have an immediate effect. Since ice shelves are already floating, their break-up does not affect sea levels. But glaciers are different. They sit on land. Ice shelves are able to prevent some glaciers from sliding into the ocean. These glaciers can begin moving at a faster rate after ice shelves break apart. 
        If large amounts of ice slide into the sea at a high rate of speed, new mass is added to the ocean. This, scientists say, can raise the world's sea levels. Rising sea levels can lead to coastal flooding. Some scientists have urged that more be done to limit the effects of human-caused climate change. (this message come from VOA.2008.04.15)