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Giant iceberg blocks sunlight over Antarctic ocean
13:16 p.m. EDT Oct 5, 2003
The big iceberg named C-19 that broke off the Antarctic ice sheet in May 2002 was about twice the size of Rhode Island, measuring 20 miles wide and 124 miles long.
Today, a year and a half later, the iceberg is causing damage to marine wildlife off the coast of Antarctica by blocking sunlight to a huge expanse of ocean.
Another problem is that the iceberg has created a build-up of sea ice that has killed the tiny marine phytoplankton - a key element in the Antarctic food chain. NASA also observed a large crack in the Ross Ice Shelf, indicating that a further iceberg was being formed. It is hard to say when it will break off though.
Just a few weeks back the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, the largest ice shelf in the Arctic broke up. Scientists believe that these changes in the Polar ice caps are due to global warming.
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