WEEK 13 March 18th to 24th 2002

   FIRE AND ICE

   Major parts of the Larsen B ice shelf in the Antarctic eastern sea,, has collapsed. American scientists are convinced the collapse is caused by the global warming.
   3250 square kilometers of the shelf has fractured during the last 35 days and fallen into the sea, says the American national Snow and Ice center, NSIDC in Colorado. The collapse has led to a thousand icebergs have been released into the Wedell Sea.
   The ice shelves act as a kind of buffer, contributing in the protection of the ice masses on the Antarctic mainland from the warmer weather, The lack of protection will lead to the ice melting easier... and faster. This summer has been one of the hottest in Antarctica ever, and the progressive increase in heat and collapse of the ice is clearly continuing unabated.