Huge ice breaking in the North Pole

US scientists say an ice sheet of four times the size of Manhattan Island (260 km2) and a height of about 180m have been separated from the Petermann glacier in northern Greenland on Thursday morning (August 5).

This is the largest iceberg in the Arctic since 1962

Andreas Muenchow, who led the research group at the University of Delaware, said: 'The amount of fresh water stored in this ice sheet can keep all public taps in the United States flowing continuously for 120 days . '

However, it is difficult to comment on whether this event was due to the impact of the Earth warming, because records of currents flowing around the glacier were only saved since 2003. .

It is known that ocean currents underneath glaciers are one of the main causes of the ice break in Greenland.

'Nobody can say this is due to the warming of the Earth. But on the contrary, it is not possible to confirm that this is not a consequence of the warming of the Earth , 'Mr. Muenchow said.

Scientists have recorded the first 6 months of 2010 as the hottest months of the earth for many years.The EI Nino weather phenomenon also contributes to the rise in temperature, but many scientists believe that the human-induced greenhouse effect has prompted higher temperatures.

Muenchow suggested that the newly released ice sheet could stop Nares Strait (about 992 kilometers south of the Arctic) if it drifted south, or broke into smaller blocks and headed to the Atlantic Ocean.