The Larsen B ice shelf covered more than 3,000 square kilometers and was 1 meters thick until its northern part 2 in the 1990s. Three years ago, the central part also broke up. An international team of researchers used data collected from six 3 near the former ice shelf to show the shelf had been 4 for at least 5 years or since the last ice age. The 6 therefore goes beyond what would be expected naturally at the time. Rather, the 7 is likely the result of 8 due to melting from underneath, as well as short-term 9 from global climate change, the researchers suggest. Then in five years, the shelf shrunk by 10 square kilometers, say scientists who found the break up caused changes in 11 in the area. "As the ice shelves are disintegrating, the 12 that are feeding them from the land are 13 ," said Robert Gilbert, a 14 at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. Glaciers are no longer being held back from the ice shelf, and are pushing 15 into the sea, said Gilbert, one of the co-authors of the study in 16 of the Journal Nature. As the glaciers melt, global sea levels could change more than 17 , he said. Flooding could result in 18 . Scientists are now watching to see if the 19 of the Larsen ice shelf, the coldest part of 20 , is going to break up.