Milne Ice Shelf

Milne Ice Shelf
Milne Ice Shelf is located in Nunavut
Milne Ice Shelf
Location within Nunavut
TypeIce shelf
LocationEllesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada
Coordinates82°45′N 081°55′W / 82.750°N 81.917°W / 82.750; -81.917
Area290 km2 (110 sq mi) (1986)
Thickness100 metres (330 ft) (1986)
Milne ice shelf collapses on August 12, 2020

The Milne Ice Shelf, a fragment of the former Ellesmere Ice Shelf, is located in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is in Milne Ford, and between Cape Egerton and Cape Evans.

Description of the ice shelf and its collapse

It is the second largest ice shelf in the Arctic Ocean. Situated on the north-west coast of Ellesmere Island, it is about 270 km (170 mi) west of Alert, Nunavut. In 1986, the ice shelf had an area of about 290 km2 (110 sq mi), with a central thickness of 100 m (330 ft).

It had been the last ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic to be fully intact until July 2020, when over 40 percent of the sheet collapsed within two days, a consequence of global warming. An uninhabited research camp was lost when the shelf collapsed. It included instruments for measuring water flow through the ice shelf.

The Northern Hemisphere's last epishelf lake was held back by the ice shelf. That ecosystem was an isolated body of fresh water floating on top of the sea, trapped behind the ice. It also disappeared in 2020.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mueller, Derek (17 July 2017). "Milne Ice Shelf". Water and Ice Research Laboratory. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  2. ↑ "Milne Ice Shelf - Reference.org". Reference.org Encyclopedia and Reference Library. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  3. ↑ Mortimer, Colleen A.; Copland, Luke; Mueller, Derek R. (2012). "Volume and area changes of the Milne Ice Shelf, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, since 1950". Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface. 117 (F4) 2011JF002074. Bibcode:2012JGRF..117.4011M. doi:10.1029/2011JF002074. ISSN 0148-0227. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Jeffries, Martin O. (1986). "Glaciers and the morphology and structure of Milne Ice Shelf, Ellesmere Island, N.W.T., Canada". Arctic and Alpine Research. 18 (4): 397–405. doi:10.2307/1551089. JSTOR 1551089. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  5. ↑ Warburton, Moira (6 August 2020). "Canada's last fully intact Arctic ice shelf collapses". Reuters. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  6. ↑ Funes, Yessenia (11 August 2020). "These Satellite Images Show the Final Days of Canada's Last Ice Shelf". Earther. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  7. ↑ Magazine, Hakai. "Milne Ice Shelf Ecosystem, We Hardly Knew Ye". Hakai Magazine. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  8. ↑ Bonneau, J.; Hamilton, A. K.; Mueller, D.; Laval, B. E.; Forrest, A. L.; Crawford, A. J.; Antropova, Y. K.; Shoapik, J.; Pijamini, S.; Vincent, W. F. (27 August 2026). "Regime shift in high arctic fjord signals the vulnerability of the Arctic's Last Ice Area". Scientific Reports. doi:10.1038/s41598-026-68201-6. ISSN 2045-2322.