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Richard A. Lovett
for National Geographic News

December 29, 2006
A huge Canadian ice shelf 500 miles (800 kilometers) from the North
Pole has disintegrated, leaving a large floating island of ice stranded
30 miles (48 kilometers) offshore, scientists reported yesterday.

The entire 25.5-square-mile (66-square-kilometer) Ayles Ice Shelf broke
free from the northern coast of Ellesmere Island on August 13, 2005 The
event registered as a small earthquake on instruments stationed 150
miles (250 kilometers) away, Warwick Vincent of Quebec's Laval
University told the CanWest News Service.

"It's like a cruise missile came down and hit the ice shelf," Vincent
said. "It no longer exists."

The breakup was spotted on satellite photos shortly after it occurred,
but scientists have held back until now to make an announcement.

"We've spent the last year reconstructing exactly what happened," said
Luke Copland, a geographer with the University of Ottawa in Ontario,
Canada.

Sixteen months of study led Copland and colleagues to the conclusion
that several factors were at work, mostly related to global warming.

Long-Term Trend

Ice shelves are floating tongues of glaciers that fill bays in the
Arctic and Antarctic. The shelves are attached to land and are much
thicker than pack ice-freely floating masses of sea ice.

The Ayles ice shelf was believed to be 3,000 to 4,500 years old.

Before the breakup the Canadian Arctic had six ice shelves.

"Now there are five," Copland said. In the past hundred years, he
added, Canada's ice shelves have shrunk by 90 percent.

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"Joe" wrote in message
oups.com...
Richard A. Lovett
for National Geographic News

December 29, 2006
A huge Canadian ice shelf 500 miles (800 kilometers) from the North
Pole has disintegrated, leaving a large floating island of ice stranded
30 miles (48 kilometers) offshore, scientists reported yesterday.

The entire 25.5-square-mile (66-square-kilometer) Ayles Ice Shelf broke
free from the northern coast of Ellesmere Island on August 13, 2005 The
event registered as a small earthquake on instruments stationed 150
miles (250 kilometers) away, Warwick Vincent of Quebec's Laval
University told the CanWest News Service.

"It's like a cruise missile came down and hit the ice shelf," Vincent
said. "It no longer exists."

The breakup was spotted on satellite photos shortly after it occurred,
but scientists have held back until now to make an announcement.

"We've spent the last year reconstructing exactly what happened," said
Luke Copland, a geographer with the University of Ottawa in Ontario,
Canada.

Sixteen months of study led Copland and colleagues to the conclusion
that several factors were at work, mostly related to global warming.

Long-Term Trend

Ice shelves are floating tongues of glaciers that fill bays in the
Arctic and Antarctic. The shelves are attached to land and are much
thicker than pack ice-freely floating masses of sea ice.

The Ayles ice shelf was believed to be 3,000 to 4,500 years old.

Before the breakup the Canadian Arctic had six ice shelves.

"Now there are five," Copland said. In the past hundred years, he
added, Canada's ice shelves have shrunk by 90 percent.



Now that the Bush administration has agreed to put polar bears on the
threatened species list, there's hope that this sort of thing may be
lessened in the future.

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we
are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and
servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." (T. Roosevelt,
1918)


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

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"Joe" wrote

Sixteen months of study led Copland and colleagues to the conclusion
that several factors were at work, mostly related to global warming.
"Now there are five," Copland said. In the past hundred years, he
added, Canada's ice shelves have shrunk by 90 percent.

Duh! Now you done it, Joe. Every nut job environmentalist extremist is gonna
jump on the global warming band wagon. But, guess what happened one hundred
years ago.
It was towards the end of the "little ice age" which lasted several hundred years.
This little ice age allowed abnormal ice to build up. Now that the little ice age has
ended it's totally normal for the ice to get back to normal. But the global warming
people will say see I told you so. Global warming. The poles are melting. That's
bunk. They're using the little ice age as the norm and it wasn't. It was an ice age
where it was colder and ice built up. Stupid people will buy into their crap, though.
Al Gore is their hero.

Cheers,
Ellen

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"Nigel" wrote in message
...
It's you consumptive fat Americans that are causing global warming.

Put down the pizza slice and start walking fatties!


Nigel


Brits are the fattest in Europe...

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

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"Nigel" wrote in message
...
It's you consumptive fat Americans that are causing global warming.

Indeed. It's all that American farting. Methane is a greenhouse gas, after
all.

Put down the pizza slice and start walking fatties!

What are you recommending? Yorkshire pudding or boiled mutton fat?

Max

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Hey UK, nice job out-walking Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Latvia.
http://www.darmoni.net/TORINO%202006.HTM

Nancy Sinatra did a real nice song about boots and walking, I think she had
you in mind.

Cheers!
Scout


"Nigel" wrote in message
...
It's you consumptive fat Americans that are causing global warming.

Put down the pizza slice and start walking fatties!


Nigel

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That was 17 months ago. Why put it in the news now?

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"Bart" wrote
That was 17 months ago. Why put it in the news now?

Freaking leftist environmental herky jerkies is who. They gotta do something to keep
the moron masses believing in people-caused global warming. How else are they gonna
brainwash people into paying some kind of big tax to combat it??

Cheers,
Ellen

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"Bart" wrote in message
ups.com...
That was 17 months ago. Why put it in the news now?



You mean it's not worth repeating?

Happy New Year Bart!

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com