Satellite images of the Wilkins Ice Shelf showed that a huge iceberg, 41 x 2.5 km, about seven times the size of Manhattan, has disintegrated from the ice shelf recently.

The Wilkins began its collapse on Feb 28 (2008); a narrow beam of intact ice, just 6 km wide, was protecting the remaining shelf from further breakup as of March 23.

[More stories on National Snow and Ice Data Center and British Antarctic Survey]

The Phoenix Islands Protected Area, or PIPA, lies about halfway between Hawaii and Fiji. [AP]

PIPA was the world’s third largest marine protected area before the Government of Kiribati announced the expansion of the boundaries of the protected area on Jan 28, 2008… which now encompass an area of 410,500 square kilometres. [Phoenixisland]

Desert snow (Image courtesy of Xinhuanet; captured on Jan 19, 2008)

As beauty as it seems… China is suffering from the worst winter weather in decades, which are affecting the lives of millions.

Certain species of phytoplankton contain photosynthetic pigments that vary in color from green to brown to red, and when the algae are present in high concentrations, the water appears to be discolored or murky, varying in color from white to almost black, normally being red or brown.

Red Tide caused by Dinoflagellates off the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Pier, La Jolla California (Image courtesy of P. Alejandro Díaz)

Not all algal blooms are dense enough to cause water discoloration, and not all discolored waters associated with algal blooms are red. Additionally, red tides are not typically associated with tidal movement of water, hence the preference among scientists to use the term algal bloom. [Wikipedia]

Army of penguins (Image courtesy of Dailymail, via Spluch)

The king penguins lay their eggs in late November, with a peak around mid-December. They don’t build nests – instead the male and female of each mating couple take it in turns to incubate a single egg on their feet over the course of two months.

Mount Etna erupts (Image courtesy of Chinadaily)

Mount Etna (also known as Mongibeddu in Sicilian) is an active volcano on the east coast of Sicily. It is the largest active volcano in Europe, and is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. The volcano is not generally regarded as being dangerous, and thousands of people live on its slopes and in the surrounding areas.

Cappuccino beach (Image courtesy of Dailymail)

Scientists explain that the foam is created by impurities in the ocean, such as salts, chemicals, dead plants, decomposed fish and excretions from seaweed. All are churned up together by powerful currents which cause the water to form bubbles.

These bubbles stick to each other as they are carried below the surface by the current towards the shore. As a wave starts to form on the surface, the motion of the water causes the bubbles to swirl upwards and, massed together, they become foam.

A group of Emperor penguins darts in the water; emperors can dive to 600m and stay underwater for 20 minutes (Courtesy of Time)

The book is a collection of amazing photographs taken in the water under the Antarctica ice, with strange life forms that we don’t normally see elsewhere.

A scyphomedusa, the largest plankton in the area, has tentacles over 9m in length and its bell can reach over 1m in diameter (Courtesy of Time)

The omnivorous Odontaster validus, or red star, feeds on another sea star species, the larger Acodontaster conspicuus (Courtesy of Time)

[Buy Under Antarctic Ice: The Photographs of Norbert Wu]

More images and stories at Time [Hat tip to Hemmy]