Inconvenient News

A New Zealand frigate sails past the Ross Ice Shelf in 1999. An iceberg warning has been issued for ships in the Southern Ocean after more than 100 were sighted just south of New Zealand.(AFP/File)

New Zealand Herald, via Common Dreams: Massive Ice Shelf 'May Collapse without Warning'

The Ross Ice Shelf, a massive piece of ice the size of France, could break off without warning causing a dramatic rise in sea levels, warn New Zealand scientists working in Antarctica.

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Antarctica stores 70 per cent of the world's fresh water, with the West Antarctic Ice Sheet holding an estimated 30 million cubic kilometres.

In January, British Antarctic Survey researchers predicted that its collapse would make sea levels rise by at least 5m, with other estimates predicting a rise of up to 17m.