Huge Ice Shelf Breaks From Antarctica, Fractures

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A huge ice shelf that has wrenched away from the Antarctic peninsula has started to fracture into icebergs, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Tuesday.

A huge ice shelf that has wrenched away from the Antarctic peninsula has started to fracture into icebergs, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Tuesday.

"Satellite images show that icebergs have begun to calve (break away) from the northern front of the Wilkins Ice Shelf -- indicating that the huge shelf has become unstable," it said in a statement.

The first icebergs started to detach last Friday, in a process that is likely to continue for weeks, ESA said.

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