One of Antarctica’s largest glaciers rips apart in ‘dramatic’ time-lapse

Images collated by the British Antarctic Survey and the University of Washington has shown the rapid melting of one of Antarctica’s largest glaciers - amid a warning that it is heading towards “total collapse” within 20 years. The Pine Island Glacier contains around 180 trillion tons of ice, which is a 0.5 metre (1.6 feet) rise in global sea levels. An ice shelf is currently holding back a fast-moving glacier on the continent, but is gradually thinning. Professor Ian Joughin, from Washington, said the collapse could be “much more abrupt if we lose the rest of that ice shelf”.