What was Going on when the Ayles Ice Shelf Collapsed in the Canadian Arctic?

As reported by the Seattle Times on December 29, 2006 - "The Ayles Ice Shelf - all 41 square miles of it - broke clear 16 months ago from the coast of Ellesmere Island, about 500 miles south of the North Pole in the Canadian Arctic."

The Ayles Ice Shelf of the Canadian Arctic collapsed without anyone noticing until December 2006. Had it not been for a satellite image caught of the collapse on August 13, 2005 no one would know about it yet. What happened in 2005? How does a whole world miss the collapsing ice shelf? Look back to the events of 2005.

The 2004 Christmas Tsunami

Start just before the New Year of 2005 and just after Christmas 2004! A Tsunami hit Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri-Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar, Maldives, Somalia, Australia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania. (http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Tsunami2004Indonesia.html)

This tsunami was the worst disaster many people thought they would ever see in their lifetimes. The people did not have a chance. They had no way to know the tsunami was coming. No advanced warning system was in place for tsunamis. The trigger was an earthquake. Scientists are still working on advanced warning systems for earthquakes. Many of Christmas 2004 tsunami countries would not have had access to such systems if they had been available.

Earthquakes, a force of nature, originate from within our planet. People cannot blame each other on the fact that earthquakes exist. They simply exist. The best man can do is protect himself from the damage that the earthquakes cause.

The earthquake that triggered this tsunami was determined to have a magnitude of 9.3 by Northwestern University. That magnitude would make it the second largest earthquake ever recorded. The first largest earthquake happened in Chili on May 22, 1960 with a magnitude of 9.5. (http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Tsunami2004Indonesia.html)

Antarctic Icebergs

On January 20, 2005, a huge 100-mile long iceberg called B15A ran aground in Antarctica. It blocked the water currants and the ice running through McMurdo Sound. The grounded iceberg posed problems for three scientific based - U.S. McMurdo Station, New Zealand's Scott Base, and Italy's Terra Nova base. The iceberg also endangered colonies of breeding penguin. The grounded iceberg forced the parents to travel 110 miles to gather food for their chicks while the chicks waited. (http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/iceberg_update_050120.html)

On January 31, 2005, another iceberg broke off an Antarctic ice shelf. This iceberg was about twice the size of Dallas. The National Ice Center in Suitland, MD monitored this iceberg with satellite images from the Canadian Space Agency. (http://www.livescience.com/environment/050206_new_iceberg.html)

2005 Timeline Continued

On February 5, 2005, there was a major earthquake in the Celebes Sea with a magnitude of 7.1. The Celebes Sea is between Borneo, Celebes and the Philippines (The western part of the Pacific Ocean, just above the equator).
On March 2, 2005, a major earthquake in the Banda Sea around Indonesia had a magnitude of 7.1.
On March 28, 2005, there was a major earthquake in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia with a magnitude of 8.7. An estimated 1300 people died, mostly on the island of Nias.
On June 13, 2005, there was a major earthquake in Tarapaca, Chile with a magnitude of 7.8.
On June 15, 2005, a major earthquake off the coast of California had a magnitude of 7.2.

On July 18, 2005, Bjorn Carey reported that the 2002 collapse of the giant Larson B ice shelf in Antarctica had revealed a thriving ecosystem one half mile below the sea. An article by the lead author Domack was to appear in the July 19 issue of Eos, a newspaper of the American Geophysical Union. This ecosystem existed despite near freezing and sunless conditions. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8619890/)

On July 19, 2005, hurricane Emily hit Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

On July 24, 2005, there was a major earthquake in Nicobar Islands, India with a magnitude of 7.3.

On Aug. 13, 2005, the Ayles Ice Shelf in the Canadian Arctic collapsed. This went unnoticed until December 2006.

On August 16, 2005, a major earthquake near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan had magnitude of 7.2.

Record Breaking Hurricanes with continuing earthquakes

On August 29, 2005, hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast devastating the Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana coasts. New Orleans was especially hard hit when its levees broke, releasing water into the city following the hurricane.

On September 9, 2005, a major earthquake in New Ireland Region, Papua New Guinea had a magnitude of 7.7.

On September 24, 2005, hurricane Rita made landfall breaking the record set by Katrina as the most intense hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.

On September 26, 2005, a major earthquake in Northern Peru had a magnitude of 7.5.
On October 8, 2005, there was a major earthquake in Pakistan with a magnitude of 7.6 affects Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan. (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,171643,00.html)

October 22, 2005, hurricane Wilma hit the Yucatan. The 21st tropical storm, of the season, grew quickly to the most powerful storm recorded in the Atlantic Basin. "Rapid intensification" was the word used to describe this storm. (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/1019_051019_hurricane_wilma_2.html)

On November 14, 2005, a major earthquake off coast of Honshu, Japan had a magnitude of 7.0.The earthquake produced a tsunami observed at Ofunato, Japan. (http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/11-14-05.htm)

A Final Note about the Ayles Ice Shelf Collapse

Returning to the collapse of the Ayles Ice Shelf, people everywhere hope the collapse of the Ayles Ice Shelf will not have a major effect on nature in the region. The enormity of a huge ice shelf collapse must cause a near eardrum piercing sound. Icebergs make a thunderous noise when seemingly small portions fall from a great distance. The sight and sounds must have been a remarkable phenomenon. Documentation, closer to the collapsing ice shelf, would have been fascinating. It is unimaginable how the collapse of a huge ice shelf could go unnoticed for such a long time.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003500731_webiceshelf29.html

http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-news/clickable-south-asia-map.html
Map of tsunami area

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/weblog/hurricane/archives/2005/10/yucatan_pounded.html

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0931002.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_

Ritahttp://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/07/18/tropical.weather/index.html