The last fully complete ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic has collapsed.The Milne Ice Shelf is at the edge of Ellesmere Island, in the far northern Canadian territory of Nunavut.The ice shelf, researchers say, lost more than more than 40 percent of its area in just two days at the end of July."Above normal air temperatures, offshore winds and open water in front of the ice shelf are all part of the recipe for ice shelf break up," the Canadian Ice Service said on Twitter when it announced the loss earlier this month.Luke Copland is a glaciologist at the University of Ottawa and was part of the research team studying the Milne Ice Shelf."...Cities are that size," he said. "These are big pieces of ice."The shelf's area shrank by about 80 square kilometers.By comparison, the island of Manhattan in New York covers about 60 square kilometers.The Arctic has been warming at two times the worldwide rate for the last 30 years.This year, temperatures in the polar area have been especially intense.
