Updated 19 March 2002, 11.10

Bits of ice from the Larsen B collapse

It's the biggest break-up of ice in 30 years, and scientists are blaming it on global warming - the heating up of the earth's atmosphere.

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The ice shelf, called Larsen B, first started to melt away from the main bit of land in January.

But in the last couple of weeks it's collapsed and formed hundreds of tiny icebergs.

Experts from the British Antarctic Survey say it should not affect sea levels, as it was already floating on the surface.

Worrying development

			Fact File
	Facts on the ice chunk
		It contains 50 billion tonnes of ice
		Located at 74.56 south latitude and 107.55 west longitude
		Area of collapsed ice covers 3,250 square km in total

Ice shelves act like brakes for glaciers. So if they disintegrate, glaciers flow faster.

And this is another indication of the way global warming is affecting the planet.

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Pix of the collapsed ice!

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