The European Space Agency reports new rifts on the Wilkins Ice Sheet, which is connected to two islands by a strip of ice. The rifts could cause the largest ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula to destroy the strip, or bridge, of ice that has been preventing the shelf from breaking away.  

Wilkins Ice Sheet, a broad plate of floating ice the size of Connecticut, is located is the northernmost part of Antarctica, which stretches toward South America. The peninsula has warmed more than any other place on Earth over the past 50 years.

Three ice shelves have collapsed in the past three decades. Wilkins had been stable for most of the past century until it began retreating in the 1990s. 

The rifts in Wilkins were first spotted in a satellite image in late February 2008, and scientists saw further deterioration the following week. The latest rifts were identified in November. Meanwhile, the ice bridge has lost about 772 square miles this year.

If the ice shelf breaks away from the peninsula, it will not cause a rise in sea level because it is already floating, scientists say.