"An island of ice more than four times the size of Manhattan is drifting across the Arctic Ocean after breaking off from a glacier in Greenland.

Potentially in the path of this unstoppable giant are oil platforms and shipping lanes - and any collision could do untold damage. In a worst case scenario, large chunks could reach the heavily trafficked waters where another Greenland iceberg sank the Titanic in 1912.

It's been a summer of near biblical climatic havoc across the planet, with wildfires, heat and smog in Russia and killer floods in Asia. But the moment the Petermann glacier cracked last week - creating the biggest Arctic ice island in half a century - may symbolize a warming world like no other."

Rob Gillies reports for the Associated Press August 11, 2010. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Coast Guard Ice Patrol: Huge Iceberg 'Probably' No Concern" (New London Day) [3]

"Arctic Ice Island 'Poses No Immediate Threat'" (AFP) [4]

"Giant Iceberg Drifting Toward Canada Could Threaten Ships, Oil Platforms" (Postmedia News) [5]

"Massive Ice Island Will Probably Break Up, But It Could Still Be a Threat" (Canadian Press) [6]