OTTAWA: In the latest sign of the accelerating climate change, a huge ice shelf has broken away in Canada's northern Arctic, and the remaining shelves have shrunk at a "massive and disturbing" rate.

The 55-sq-km Markham Ice Shelf, one of just five remaining ice shelves in the Canadian Arctic, split away from Ellesmere Island in early August, Canadian scientists said on Tuesday.

Two large chunks totaling 76 sq km have broken off the nearby Serson Ice Shelf, too, reducing it by 60 percent, the said.