Gigantic ice floes breaking loose in Greenland

Record warm temperatures altering land and seascapes in the north

A gigantic block of ice measuring more than 95 square kilometres has broken away from a glacier in northeast Greenland.

Danish weather service DMI reported that its 14 weather stations in Greenland are measuring recordbreaking warmth in 2016. The ice floe that has busted loose is one consequence of the record high temperatures.

“The hot temperatures are one reason that the floe broke off,” Jason Box, a research professor at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, told Jyllands-Posten.

Born to float
The floe has not moved too far away from the glacier as of yet, but Box said that it is bound to happen.

“The most recent satellite images we have are from September 3, so it will be interesting to see how it looks when we get the next ones,” he said.