According to independent scientists travelling on a Greenpeace ship in the Arctic, an ice island in the region is on the verge of breaking off from the largest ice glacier located in the northern hemisphere. It is said that the island, once it breaks off, will weigh several million tones. In fact, the researchers say that there will be, altogether, 5 billion tones of ice separating and crumbling from the Petermann Glacier, located on the north-west coast of Greenland.

“Ocean warming currents are circulating around the fjord here and eroding the underbelly of Petermann glacier at an incredible rate,” said Dr Alun Hubbard, a glaciologist at the University Of Wales, “which is 25 times that of the surface melt. There’s been a revelation in the last couple of years in the role that warming oceans play in triggering the enhanced acceleration, break-up and thinning of these outlet glaciers.”

Once the head of the glacier breaks off, it will create more room for the mass of ice that was behind it to flow downhill, melting at a quicker rate than it currently is. Melting glaciers that result in huge pieces being able to break away is just one of the many signs in the Arctic that global warming is an issue. And with more ice being able to flow downhill and melt faster, it will only add to the issue, helping to warm up the water and allow more ice to melt. 

Greenpeace campaigner John Hepburn, acting as the groups spokesperson said, “The unprecedented melting of the sea ice is in stark contrast to the glacial pace of global climate negotiations.”

The Arctic Sunrise, one of Greenpeace’s icebreaking ships, is currently on a three month trip in the Arctic, documenting the impact of climate change in the region. The expedition, led by Australian Eric Philips, is gathering the research and data for the Copenhagen climate summit in December.