Warmer air triggered the collapse of a huge ice shelf off Antarctica in 2002, according to a report on Thursday that may help scientists predict future break-ups around the frozen continent.
Antarctica is a key to sea level rise, which threatens coastal areas around the world. It has enough ice to raise seas by 57 meters if it ever all melted, meaning that even a tiny thaw at the fringes is a concern.
Until now, the exact cause of the collapse of the Larsen-B ice shelf, a floating mass of ice bigger than Luxembourg at the end of glaciers in the Antarctic Peninsula, had been unknown. Some experts suggested it was thinned by sea water from below.